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First Transitions Championship Tees Off at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club

Posted on: Monday, 16 March 2009, 14:54 CDT

Healthy Sight and Healthy Lifestyles Serve as Cornerstone to Transitions Championship

Stellar Field is Announced Representing World's Finest Golfers

TAMPA BAY, Fla., March 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The Transitions Championship kicks off today and runs through this Sunday at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club's Copperhead Course. This is the first tournament of Transitions Optical's four-year PGA TOUR title sponsorship pairing competition of the world's finest players with an exciting seven-day consumer experience -- demonstrating the connection between healthy sight and optimal sports performance and its role as part of an overall healthy lifestyle.

"Partnering with the PGA TOUR aligns well with our company and our brand, and it was important to us that we enter into the TOUR family in a big way," said Brett Craig, president, Transitions Optical. "Critical to fulfilling our vision is to activate our partnership beyond the title sponsorship to create awareness globally on behalf of the entire optical industry about the importance of healthy sight."

Unlike any event in the history of the optical industry, the Transitions Championship offers the industry a powerful and relevant means of educating consumers about the importance of healthy sight. Transitions recently announced that Trevor Immelman and Kenny Perry, both PGA TOUR players, will now serve as official spokespersons joining Transitions Optical to raise awareness for the importance of healthy sight and establish a clear link between healthy, quality sight and optimal athletic performance.

"Vision is vital to my success and gives me a competitive advantage," said Immelman. "With changing light conditions, Transitions(R) lenses reduce glare and improve contrast and help me see my best. This partnership with Transitions creates a unique and relevant platform to educate golfers of all levels and consumers in general about the importance of healthy sight and its tie to sports performance," he added.

Perry is also intimately familiar with the impact that vision has on his game. "As someone who has persevered despite several complications with my vision, quality of sight is everything to me," said Perry. "Whether I'm driving the ball down the fairway or lining up putts, healthy sight is essential to my game," Perry added. "I could not be more excited to partner with Transitions Optical to help raise awareness about the importance of healthy sight -- both on and off the course."

The Transitions Championship will play host to "Healthy Lifestyles in Sight" -- an exciting seven-day consumer experience demonstrating the connection between healthy sight and an overall healthy lifestyle. Transitions Optical and industry partners will have the latest products and industry innovations on display throughout the week at the Live Your Vision Pavilion.

"I can't say enough about the level of energy and excitement that everyone has for the Transitions Championship, including the partner organizations, volunteers and the players," said Gerald Goodman, tournament director. "It's a collective effort that is supported by a phenomenal commitment from Transitions -- a global brand and global company headquartered right here in the Tampa Bay area."

In addition to the Shelton Quarles Celebrity Pro-Am today, the Transitions Championship Pro-Am on Wednesday and tournament play running from Thursday through Sunday, the Healthy Lifestyles in Sight consumer experience will run throughout the entire week and will include:

• Monday, March 16 - Sports Vision Protection - learn about proper eyewear and eyecare to protect your eyes from potential dangers of various sports and speak with sports vision specialists
• Tuesday, March 17 - Healthy Dining Choices - Salamander Hospitality Chefs Andre Halston and Todd Gray conduct healthy cooking demonstrations and samplings
• Wednesday, March 18 - Youth Wellness - day of activity for kids, including golf clinic with TOUR swing coach and sports vision expert, chance to watch the pros compete and free vision screenings
• Thursday, March 19 - Healthy Minds - reconnect with mind, body and soul as spa service demos are offered by Indaba, Innisbrook's new luxury spa that opened this month
• Friday, March 20 - Sun Protection - learn how to protect your skin and sight from the sun's UV rays with product demonstrations and sampling opportunities
• Saturday, March 21 - Be Well with BeWell.com - interact with prominent healthcare experts who will provide health screenings and answer questions about overall health and wellness
• Sunday, March 22 - Live Your Vision - opportunity for spectators to win prizes to live their vision

Partners featured in the Live Your Vision Pavilion include the American Optometric Association, BeWell.com, Oakley, Optos, Prevent Blindness Florida, SoloHealth, The Vision Council and VSP.

The Transitions Championship will benefit over 150 local Tampa Bay charities. In the last four years, the tournament has made a charitable contribution of more than $7 million, bringing the total contributions to more than $22 million in the last 32 years. Tickets for the Transitions Championship are on sale now by visiting www.transitionschampionship.com or by calling (727) 942-5566.

About Transitions Optical, Inc.

Transitions Optical is a joint venture of PPG Industries, Inc. and Essilor International. The first to successfully commercialize a plastic photochromic lens in 1990, today the company is a leading provider of photochromics to optical manufacturers worldwide. Transitions Optical offers the most advanced photochromic technology in the widest selection of lens designs, materials and brand names.

Transitions(R) lenses are the ideal everyday choice for healthy sight. They are clear indoors and at night. Outdoors, they automatically darken as light conditions change. Transitions lenses provide visual comfort, and enhance visual quality by reducing glare and enhancing contrast, helping you to see better today. Transitions lenses block 100 percent of harmful UVA and UVB rays -- helping to protect the health and wellness of your eyes -- so you can see better tomorrow as well.

Transitions Optical is sponsoring this PGA TOUR event as part of its ongoing commitment to educate consumers about the importance of healthy sight and the critical role it plays in overall health and wellness.

For more information about the company and Transitions lenses, the first to earn the American Optometric Association's Seal of Acceptance for Ultraviolet Absorbers/Blockers, visit Transitions.com or contact Transitions Optical Customer Service at (800) 848-1506 (United States) or (877) 254-2590 (Canada).

About The Copperheads

The Copperheads, formerly known as Suncoast Golf Classic, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that has managed professional golf events in the Tampa Bay area for the last 31 years beginning with the 1977 JCPenney Classic. This mixed-team tournament was a popular fixture in November-December for 23 years. Since 2000, The Copperheads has sponsored six fall PGA TOUR events (the 2001 tournament was cancelled following the attacks of 9/11). Most of the top players on the PGA TOUR have participated in these events raising a total of more than $22 million for Tampa Bay area charities.

About Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club

Situated on 900 wooded acres of rolling hills and 70 acres of lakes on Florida's Gulf Coast near Tampa, Florida, Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club is located just 30 minutes from Tampa International Airport. Recently renovated, Innisbrook features 72 holes of championship golf, 608 spacious guest suites and rooms, four restaurants and three bars, the Innisbrook Golf Institute, 11 tennis courts, fitness and racquetball center, six heated swimming pool complexes, a nature preserve, three conference halls with 65,000 square feet of meeting space, and Indaba, a new luxury spa and fitness experience. Innisbrook is owned and managed by Salamander Hospitality, a privately owned and operated company based in Middleburg, VA, just outside Washington, DC and built upon a uniquely entrepreneurial approach to the hospitality business. For additional information call (727) 942-2000 or visit www.innisbrookgolfresort.com.

SOURCE Transitions Optical

Source: PR Newswire

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