HOUSTON, TX. – The PGA TOUR, along with Southern Company, the Official Energy Company of the PGA TOUR and SENIOR PGA TOUR, today announced the newest and largest PGA TOUR award to date, the Southern Company Citizenship Award.

Based in Atlanta, Southern Company is the largest producer of electricity in the United States and one of the world’s largest independent power producers, with $35 billion in assets through regional utilities and international operations.

The $300,000 Citizenship Award recognizes the PGA TOUR Player who best exemplifies and demonstrates integrity and public citizenship. The Citizenship Award will be presented annually at the TOUR Championship. The award will include an annual charity donation by Southern Company to be split evenly between charities designated by the winner, the TOUR, and Southern Company.

The PGA TOUR Player Advisory council reviewed player nomination to select the five finalists. The nominees and background material have been referred to a three-person panel for final selection. The nominees are as follows:

Billy Andrade & Brad Faxon

Together, they have run Billy Andrade/Brad Faxon Charities for Children since 1991, a foundation that has generated approximately $2 million to help youngsters in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. They revamped their pro-am in 1999 and renamed it the CVS Charity Classic, which raised $431,000. They have also lent their support to the Canon Greater Hartford Open’s On/Chane, Inc, which restores abandoned houses for the homeless.

Tom Lehman

Tom has played host to the Dayton’s Challenge at Minneapolis Golf Club to benefit the Children’s Cancer Research Fund for the past five years. The event raised $650,000 in 1999, plus the $30,000 prize money donated by the winning threesome of Peter Jacobsen, Steve Jones and Loren Roberts, bringing the total amount of contributions to $2.7 million. Lehman also is serving a second straight year as chairman and national spokesman for the Children’s Cancer Research Fund, which is a non-profit, volunteer organization that supports research and training in the cure, prevention and treatment of childhood cancer at the University of Minnesota.

Andrew Magee

Andrew co-hosts two major charitable tournaments: the Santa Claus Open pro-am with Gary McCord at the TPC of Scottsdale and the ClubCorp Pro-Am at Brookhaven CC in suburban Dallas with Scott Verplank and Brian Watts. The Santa Claus Open has raised more that $1 million for Arizona children-focused charities in its first five years. The ClubCorp Pro-Am benefits the Family Health Center affiliate with the Carrollton/Farmers Branch school district. Since 1991, it has raised more than $600,000 through last year to provide fundamental medical care to disadvantaged kids.

Loren Roberts

Following his victory at the 1999 GTE Byron Nelson Classic, Loren donated $100,000 from his winnings to the B.B. King Sickle Cell Center of the LeBonhear Children’s Medical Center in Memphis, TN. He announced his donation during the 4th annual Loren Roberts Celebrity Pro-Am, which itself has raised well over $200,000 for the Center. He also is an active supporter of the Mid-South Junior Golf Association of Memphis, which includes an ongoing personal four year, $40,000 commitment to fund a scholarship for minority youth involved in the program that is based on academics and good citizenship.

Tiger Woods

Through his Tiger Woods Foundation, Tiger conducts golf clinics and exhibition for thousands of youngsters throughout the country. He held five clinics/exhibitions in 1999 and has held 16 since 1996. Each clinic weekend includes workshops aimed at inner-city families, a junior clinic for 125 local youngsters, an exhibition for 300 local kids and a celebrity fundraising auction. In the past year, the Foundation also has made grants totaling nearly $208,000 to 31 program in 18 cities throughout 14 states.