Private golf community by WCI in Naples, Fla.

Rocco Mediate, a five-time winner on the PGA Tour and one of its most popular players, has signed a five-year endorsement agreement with WCI Communities, Inc., the Florida-based developer with some 600 holes of golf in many of the Sunshine State’s most attractive locations.

Under the agreement, Mediate, 41, will exclusively endorse WCI’s 30-plus communities. Mediate and his wife, Linda, have purchased an estate home in Tuscany Reserve and, along with their three children, will be the first family to move into the exclusive 466-acre private golf community by WCI in Naples, Fla.

While in Florida, Mediate will promote Tuscany Reserve, located only minutes from downtown Naples, on his apparel. When outside the state of Florida, Mediate will sport WCI’s logo on his golf apparel and golf bag. Mediate will represent both WCI and Tuscany Reserve at various golf clinics, member golf tournaments, dinners and receptions throughout the year.

It’s a distinct honor to be a member of the WCI family, Mediate said. I am confident we will enjoy a long and rewarding mutual relationship. And, on behalf of my entire family, I can say how much we all are looking forward to being part of the beautiful Tuscany Reserve community.

Now entering his 19th season on the Tour, in 1991 Mediate became the first to win using a long-handled putter at the Doral-Ryder Open. Free of back pain since the late 1990’s, he’s proven to be one of the Tour’s most consistent performers, finishing among the top 40 on the money list in the last five seasons and earning more than $1 million in each of the last four.

His most recent Tour win, in 2002, was his second at the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic. Last year, Mediate and partner Lee Jantzen put up a spirited defense of the 2002 Franklin Templeton Shootout title they won at WCI’s Tiburon, a Norman-designed course in Naples, Fla.

We are very pleased to welcome Rocco to the WCI family and are delighted he and his family have chosen Tuscany Reserve as their new home, said Mike Curtin, senior VP sales and marketing for WCI. Rocco exudes the character, personality and passion we strive to create in all our WCI communities, and it is an honor that one of the PGA TOUR’s most well-liked and well-respected players will make Tuscany his home course.

The community, designed to reflect the feel and lifestyle of the Tuscan region of Italy, will be restricted to some 300 residences and club memberships. The Tuscany Reserve course will be a par-72, 7,200-yard layout, and is being designed by Greg Norman and Pete Dye, who previously collaborated on The Medallist in Jupiter, Fla.

A four-story clubhouse, scheduled to break ground soon, will include a spa and fitness center with treatment rooms, golf shop, casual and fine dining and four luxuriously appointed guest suites. The state-of-the-art Golf Studio, practice facility and select holes will be available for viewing mid-2004. The course is expected to open for play in early 2005.

Three other eagerly anticipated WCI golf courses also are scheduled to open in 2004 — Hammock Bay Golf & Country Club, a Peter Jacobsen/Jim Hardy design in Southeast Naples; Old Palm Golf Club, a Raymond Floyd design in North Palm Beach; and Parkland Golf & Country Club, a Greg Norman design in North Broward County. Also see: Cancun golf vacations.

Author Notes:

Anthony Malo contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.1st-in-golf.com. A source of information on golf equipment, golf manufacturers, supplies, tips and more.

	Private Golf Community
Private golf community by WCI in Naples, Fla.