"We're very pleased to announce a record donation to the Buick Open charities who play such an important role in the success of the tournament," said Larry Peck, Buick's golf marketing manager. "We look forward to expanding the scope of our charitable support in the future." The previous record donation from the Buick Open was $550,000 in 2000.

Among the charities who received donations from the 2002 Buick Open are the Easter Seals of Genesee County, which raises additional funds through the sale of Buick Open tickets; the American Red Cross Genesee-Lapeer Chapter, which provides transportation services for the tournament; Whaley Children's Center, which handles the "will-call" booth at the tournament; and the Genesee County regional office of the American Lung Association of Michigan, which provides volunteers to operate the Buick Open telephone center.

Among the other beneficiaries of the Buick Open charity donations are the Children's Home of Detroit, Lighthouse of Oakland County, the Boy Scouts, Angela Hospice and the Consortium on child abuse and neglect. Several other organizations are scheduled to receive proceeds from the 2002 Buick Open.

Buick also announced today that the purse for the 2003 Buick Open, scheduled for July 28-August 3 at Warwick Hills, will be a record $4 million. The defending champion is Tiger Woods, who took home a check for $594,000 at the 2002 Buick Open. For tickets or information call 1 (800) 878 OPEN or go to buickopen.pgatour.com

Now in its fifth decade of PGA Tour sponsorship, Buick is the title-sponsor of three PGA Tour events: The Buick Invitational (February 10-16) at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, Calif.; the Buick Classic (June 16-22) at Westchester Country Club in Harrison, New York; and the Buick Open (July 28-August 3).

The official car of the PGA Tour since 1984, Buick has a marketing partnership with Tiger Woods and sponsorship agreements with golf instructor Butch Harmon and PGA Tour professionals Matt Gogel and David Berganio Jr.

In 2002, Buick became the official car of the PGA of America and assumed the title-sponsorship of the Buick Scramble, the world's largest amateur golf tournament with approximately 100,000 participants annually. Through its PGA Tour events Buick has donated 26 million dollars to local charities since 1982.