Nationwide Tour Headed to Cincinnati's TPC River's Bend

The Nationwide Tour added a new tournament to its 2010 schedule with the announcement of the Chiquita Classic, to be played July 12-18 at the TPC River’s Bend in the Cincinnati suburb of Maineville, Ohio.

The Chiquita Classic will feature a field of 156 competing over 72 holes of stroke play for a purse of $550,000. The TPC River’s Bend is a 7,180-yard par-72 layout designed by legend Arnold Palmer which opened in 2001. A Pro-Am will be played at TPC River’s Bend on Wednesday, July 14th.

All four rounds of the Chiquita Classic will air on Golf Channel in the U.S. The tournament will also be made available around the world, including China, Japan, Korea and parts of Latin America and Europe.

Anthony Muñoz, the Pro Football Hall of Fame member and former Cincinnati Bengal who is very involved in community activities in his adopted hometown of Cincinnati, will serve as Honorary Chairman for the Chiquita Classic.

“In Chiquita Brands, the Nationwide Tour has added yet another large and prominent company that understands the value and benefit of a partnership with the PGA Tour,” said Nationwide Tour president Bill Calfee. "The Chiquita Classic will be a great platform through which Chiquita can help generate funds for charities locally and build the Chiquita brand internationally via television distribution of the event around the globe. We’re excited about playing the TPC River's Bend course and welcome Chiquita to the Nationwide Tour.”

”I’m very proud to be associated with the Nationwide Tour and for TPC River’s Bend to play host to its great players for the first time,” said Arnold Palmer by telephone from his Bay Hill Club in Florida. “As it did for the Champions Tour a few years ago (2002-2004), I’m sure TPC River’s Bend will provide a challenging, fun test for the players. The caliber of play on the Nationwide Tour is very comparable to what you see on the PGA Tour, so golf fans of Cincinnati are in for a real up-close and personnel treat when the Chiquita Classic comes to town in July.”

With its July 12-18 dates, the Chiquita Classic follows the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic presented by Samsung (Clarksburg, Ontario, Canada) on the Tour schedule and will precede the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational (Columbus, Ohio).

With the addition of the Chiquita Classic, the Nationwide Tour now has 29 tournaments on its 2010 schedule, which is equal to the number of events played last year. At season’s end, “The 25” leading money winners on the Nationwide Tour will earn PGA Tour cards for 2010.