BMW Manufacturing Corp. and The Cliffs Communities Join Forces for Inaugural Pro-Am Charity Golf Event as Part of BUY.COM TOUR

2 November 2000
BMW Manufacturing Corp. and The Cliffs Communities Join Forces for Inaugural Pro-Am Charity Golf Event as Part of BUY.COM TOUR
    GREENVILLE, S.C., Nov. 2 BMW Manufacturing Corp. and The
Cliffs Communities will host the BUY.COM TOUR in 2001 with a new Pro-Am event
to be played April 23-29.
    The $500,000 event, to be known as BMW Manufacturing Corp. Presents the
BUY.COM TOUR Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs, will be the first BUY.COM TOUR
event to feature amateur play spread over three days, and will be televised
live by The Golf Channel.
    The tournament, to be held at The Cliffs Valley and The Cliffs at Keowee
Vineyards courses, will offer 156 professionals paired with an amateur partner
in a two-day better-ball competition that has the 10 best Pro-Am teams
advancing to play for the BMW Charity Cup on Saturday.
    The winner of the overall 72-hole event will take home $90,000, while the
amateurs will compete for individual prizes and cash donations to the charity
of their choice.
    "This event is unique to the BUY.COM TOUR and we anticipate a great event
next spring," said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem.  "The support of BMW
Manufacturing Corp. and a pair of great courses at The Cliffs Communities
should make this one of the premier events on the BUY.COM TOUR."
    "BMW has made another incredible contribution to South Carolina today.
What a thrill to combine BMW and the BUY.COM TOUR to our state's rich heritage
of golf," said Governor Jim Hodges.  "Beginning today, some of the world's
best new and upcoming golfers will get to taste our state's best courses and
share in our love of South Carolina."
    "There's no disputing BMW's huge economic impact on South Carolina," said
Commerce Secretary Charles S. Way, Jr.  "But today they demonstrate what
industries in the state are really like.  They provide a community with more
than good-paying jobs and better health benefits.  Like BMW, they give back
their time and talents, not to mention hundreds of thousands of dollars to
local charities that directly support South Carolinians in need."
    This event will continue a presence in the Greenville area for the BUY.COM
TOUR that began in 1992.  Among the past winners of the Greenville stop are
David Toms and Tom Scherrer, both of whom have won events on the PGA TOUR this
season.
    Bobby Hitt, BMW Manufacturing Corp. Public Affairs Manager, said, "With
the final round of the Thornblade Classic this year, we saw an opportunity to
showcase Upstate South Carolina through an event that would raise money for
South Carolina charities.  The willingness of the PGA TOUR to allow BMW and
The Cliffs to create a one-of-a-kind format will ensure that the event brings
national attention to our communities."
    Darin MacDonald, Tournament Director, said, "I envision a number of teams
playing the finishing holes on Saturday, being under pressure similar to what
Tour players feel every weekend, as they vie for the title and prize money for
the charity of their choice, based on their finishing scores."
    Since 1990, events on the BUY.COM TOUR have donated in excess of
$20 million to the communities in which they are played.
    The BUY.COM TOUR just concluded a record-breaking 2000 season, playing
31 events across the United States and Mexico with purses exceeding
$13 million.  For the first time, the leading money winner, Spike McRoy,
earned more than $300,000 and a total of 53 players topped $100,000 in
earnings.
    The BUY.COM TOUR is owned and operated by the PGA TOUR.