ELMSFORD, N.Y. (January 14, 2008) - The 2008 PGA Tour season kicked off with the Mercedes Benz Championship, but for Met Area natives Jim McGovern and Marc Turnesa the season began on January 10. That was the first round of the Sony Open in Honolulu, Hawaii, and was the first event for Turnesa as a fully-exempt member of the Tour and the first for McGovern as a member since 1999. McGovern and Turnesa will also be featured in the February/March 2008 issue of The Met Golfer, where they discuss the pressure of making it to the Tour.

McGovern, a former Met Open and Met Amateur champion, is no stranger to the PGA Tour. He was a fully exempt member from 1991-1999, a stretch that included a victory at the Shell Houston Open in 1993. His Tour experience was evident as he teed off on Saturday in 11th place after firing rounds of 71-65 (-4). He continued his fine play with an even-par 70 in the third round, but stumbled in the final round with a 76 to finish t-55th and earn $11,925 for his efforts.

Turnesa, who played on the Nationwide Tour in 2007, was making his first PGA Tour start at the Sony Open. The Greenwich, Conn., native was a rookie on the Nationwide Tour in 2007 and finished 16th on the money list thanks to a win at the Miccosukee Championship. Turnesa, however, was unable to get it going at the Sony and missed the cut with rounds of 73-72.

Turnesa will join two other Met Area players, J.J. Henry and Johnson Wagner, at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, which begins on Wednesday, January 16 in Palm Desert, Calif. McGovern is an alternate for that event.

For more information please contact Bob Nielsen of the MGA via e-mail at bnielsen@mgagolf.org or by phone at (914) 347-4653, ext. 239.