two-time Hoag Classic champion<\/a>, in 2010 and 2014. He still likes playing at the club. As a matter of fact, he said he had a tee time early Tuesday afternoon, just a couple of hours after the press conference ended.<\/p>\n ![\"PGA](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779919569_112_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
PGA Tour Champions President Miller Brady makes comments during Tuesday\u2019s press conference.<\/p>\n
(Don Leach \/ Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve known this [news] for seven or eight days now,\u201d Couples said. \u201cBut when [Newport Beach Country Club CEO] Kevin [Martin] said 72 holes, I went, \u2018Oh my god, that just is such a nice sound.\u2019 Because to play this course four days and maybe a couple of pro-am days is really a very special thing,\u201d<\/p>\n
PGA Tour Champions President Miller Brady said that the Hoag Classic was already one of the most popular tournaments on the tour. That\u2019s true for players as well as their wives, with Fashion Island within shouting distance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you look at what it takes to host a major, we\u2019ve got everything we need right here \u2014 great sponsors, a fantastic golf course, great community support and tremendous crowds,\u201d Brady said. \u201cThat\u2019s exactly what we need to elevate the stature of the Senior Players Championship. We\u2019re very excited to usher in this new era here in Newport Beach.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Newport](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779919569_658_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Newport Beach Country Club CEO Kevin Martin, left, greets Hoag executive vice president and CFO Andrew Guarni during Tuesday\u2019s press conference.<\/p>\n
(Don Leach \/ Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n
A five-year agreement is in place to ensure that the tour will remain at Newport Beach Country Club through 2031.<\/p>\n
Additionally, the charitable beneficiaries will remain the same for the Hoag Senior Players Championship as they were for the Hoag Classic. <\/p>\n
The Hoag Classic, one of the largest philanthropic events on the tour, has raised more than $25 million in total for Hoag\u2019s programs and services, as well as local educational and military charities.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs this event grows, so too will its ability to support health care, education and community programs that improve lives throughout Orange County,\u201d said Andrew Guami, Hoag\u2019s chief financial officer and executive vice president. \u201cWe are excited for what lies ahead, and proud to continue this legacy together.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Senior Players, which has been owned and operated by the PGA Tour since it began in 1983, will now be operated by HNS Sports Group. The group has managed operations for the Hoag Classic since 2000, and has overseen the tournament in its entirety since 2024.<\/p>\n
![\"World](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779919570_805_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
World Golf Hall of Famer Fred Couples makes comments during Tuesday\u2019s press conference at Newport Beach Country Club.<\/p>\n
(Don Leach \/ Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n
Couples has won three Players Championships, on the PGA Tour in 1984 and 1996 and on the PGA Tour Champions in 2011.<\/p>\n
He will remain a hometown favorite when the tour comes back to Newport Beach next March with a new event.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Winning the Hoag Classic the last time in 2014], that\u2019s a long time ago,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I honestly think I can still win here. I really do. I hit the ball plenty far.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fred Couples was in a joking mood at a press conference Tuesday morning at Newport Beach Country Club.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7088,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[3863,1443,3444,2265,374,768,3864,3859,1486,3296,3860,144,3299,3862,3861,3295],"class_list":["post-7087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bmw-championship","tag-big-news","tag-bmw-championship","tag-couple","tag-day","tag-education","tag-event","tag-great-community-support","tag-hoag-classic-golf-tournament","tag-major","tag-newport-beach-country-club","tag-newport-beach-next-march","tag-pga-tour","tag-place","tag-press-conference-tuesday-morning","tag-program","tag-senior-players-championship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"PGA](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779919569_515_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n