Former Masters champs commit to Senior Players

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Two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw has committed to the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship, where he led after 36 holes in 2008.

BALTIMORE -- With the less than one week remaining until the Champions Tour returns to Charm City for the final major of the season, tournament officials today announced that the number of former Masters champions in the field has swelled from five to nine after the latest wave of player commitments.

Ben Crenshaw, Sandy Lyle, Larry Mize and Fuzzy Zoeller have joined the lineup of legends ready to take on Baltimore Country Club's historic Five Farms at the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship, Sept. 28-Oct. 4.

"We are delighted that this decorated foursome will be competing at next week's Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship," Tournament Executive Director Steve Schoenfeld said. "The field is shaping up to be the strongest in tournament history, which should make for a thrilling week for both players and fans alike."

World Golf Hall of Fame member Crenshaw, a two-time Masters champion (1984 & 1995), joined the Champions Tour in 2002 after a long and successful career on the PGA TOUR highlighted by 19 victories. The Texan nicknamed "Gentle Ben" was a member of three U.S. Ryder Cup teams and captained the 1999 squad to the greatest comeback in event history -- winning 8 ½ points in singles matches on the final day to come from four points back and steal the victory. Crenshaw made a spirited run at last year's Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship, leading after 36 holes, but fell two strokes short of champion D.A. Weibring.

Lyle, a native of Scotland with 29 worldwide titles, is a two-time major champion after adding his name to the record books at the 1985 British Open and 1988 Masters. He is a European Ryder Cup veteran with five appearances to his credit and served as one of Ian Woosnam's Assistant Captains in 2006 at the K Club in Ireland. Lyle joined the Champions Tour in 2008 and finished T65 in his first appearance at Baltimore Country Club.

Augusta, Ga., native Mize was a mainstay on the PGA TOUR from 1982-2007, logging four victories and 85 top-10 finishes. The biggest victory of his career came at the 1987 Masters, after he landed an incredible 140-foot chip-in on the second playoff hole to beat Greg Norman and earn a green jacket in his hometown. A member of the Champions Tour since last fall, he finished T27 in his debut at the 2008 Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship.

With his 1979 Masters victory, Zoeller joined an elite trio of players to have earned a green jacket in their first appearance at Augusta National. The 10-time PGA TOUR winner claimed a second major title at the 1984 U.S. Open after besting Greg Norman in an 18-hole playoff at Winged Foot GC in New York. Through seven seasons on the Champions Tour, Zoeller has added another two victories to his resume including a major at the 2002 Senior PGA Championship. The 57-year-old showman from Indiana continues to draw large galleries as he regularly interacts with fans throughout his round. Zoeller will make his third appearance at Baltimore Country Club and logged a T7 best performance at the 2007 event.

Crenshaw, Lyle, Mize and Zoeller join a playing field that includes World Golf Hall of Fame members Tom Kite, Hale Irwin, Bernhard Langer, Nick Price and Tom Watson as well as Maryland's own Fred Funk, John Cook, Jay Haas, Gil Morgan, Mark McNulty, Mark O'Meara, 2007 Champion Loren Roberts, Jeff Sluman, Craig Stadler, Hal Sutton, Jim Thorpe, Bob Tway and 2008 Champion D.A. Weibring.