Purse Increase Keeps 2000 BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland in Top Ten Purses on Senior PGA TOUR

Leveraging Of Music City USA Hopes To Draw Top New Talent

NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 7, 2000 - With a purse increase to $1.5 million and the uniqueness of Music City USA, the BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland hopes to draw the top new talent on the Senior PGA TOUR.

The 2000 TOUR promises to be a marquee year as several players join the Senior PGA TOUR. Tom Watson, Tom Kite, Andy North and Lanny Wadkins will become eligible for senior play before the 2000 BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland.

"The 2000 purse was increased from $1.4 million to $1.5 million," said Jere A. Drummond, tournament vice chairman and vice chairman, BellSouth Corporation. "This increase keeps the BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland in the top 10 purses on the Senior TOUR to continue to attract the best talent. Once again the BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland will be a premiere stop by golfers on the Senior PGA TOUR."

Local tournament organizers pulled out all the stops by sending a series of Nashville theme invitations to the rookies. The invitations included a customized box with guitar picks stating, "Nashville - A Great Pick," followed by individual acoustic guitars that included the rookie's name and the BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland logo. Finally, the players received a personalized compact disc with a parody of the 1970's song, "Please Come To Boston" inviting them to "Please Come To Nashville."

"Our goal with the rookie invitations was to leverage the fact the tournament is held in Music City," said Terry E. London, chairman of the tournament's board and president and chief executive officer of Gaylord Entertainment. "No other stop on the Senior TOUR provides the spectators and players with world class entertainment, a wealth of historical sights, excellent restaurants and shopping all in one spot."

This year's BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland is set for May 28-June 4 at Springhouse Golf Club. In just six years the tournament has raised over $1 million for charities in Tennessee. The tournament is one of Nashville's pioneer sporting events.

BellSouth (NYSE: BLS) is a $25 billion communications services company. It provides telecommunications, wireless and wireless long distance communications, Internet and data services, advertising and publishing, and video and entertainment services to nearly 37 million customers in 19 countries worldwide.

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