Hall of fame golfers Fred Couples, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh commit to 2025 Galleri Classic

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (KESQ) – Several former World No. 1s officially committed to the Galleri Classic, which takes place later this month in Rancho Mirage.

Tournament organizers announced 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples, four-time major champion Ernie Els and three-time major champion Vijay Singh will play in the event on the renowned Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club.

The third-annual Galleri Classic takes place March 26-30.

Beautiful day in the desert for a golf and tennis special with @GalleriClassic and @BNPPARIBASOPEN. Starting off here in Rancho Mirage for Media Day. The @ChampionsTour event is later this month at @MissionHillsCC1. Coverage tonight on @KESQ! pic.twitter.com/xDhv54le9U

— Blake Arthur (@BlakeArthur24) March 3, 2025

The Galleri Classic, named after title sponsor GRAIL’s multi-cancer early detection test, will feature 78 PGA TOUR Champions golf professionals, including World Golf Hall of Fame members, playing 54 holes (three rounds) of stroke play for a $2.2 million purse.

The Galleri Classic’s ticket and Pro-Am offerings, as well as volunteer registration, are available at the tournament’s official website, www.TheGalleriClassic.com.

Couples, Els and Singh are among an exclusive class of 10 major championship-winning golfers in the sport’s history to have been ranked No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking and enshrined in the World Golf Hall of Fame (Singh inducted in 2006, Els in 2011, Couples in 2013).

“The Galleri Classic Presented by Spotlight 29 Casino is fortunate to welcome back Fred Couples, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh, legends who have been influential in golf and have shaped fanbases for more than 30 years,” said Michelle DeLancy, tournament director of The Galleri Classic. “Freddie is a PGA TOUR Champions icon and, given he is playing a limited schedule these days, his presence in our field should not be taken for granted. Ernie had his best year on PGA TOUR Champions in 2024 and seems primed to be a leading contender for all of the tour’s awards and accolades in 2025. Vijay has been a dominant force on the PGA TOUR while competing against the very best players of this century and the competitive fire burns in him to win again on PGA TOUR Champions.”

This quartet joins a field that recently received commitments from The Galleri Classic’s first two champions, 2023 winner David Toms and 2024 winner Retief Goosen, 2023 and 2024 runner-up Steven Alker, GRAIL ambassador Steve Stricker, PGA TOUR Champions all-time wins leader Bernhard Langer, event newcomer Stewart Cink, 14-time tour winner Miguel Angel Jimenez and World Golf Hall of Famer Colin Montgomerie.

Once a part-time resident in the Coachella Valley, Couples owns 14 PGA TOUR Champions victories (tied for fourth most among active golfers) and 15 wins on the PGA TOUR. He holds two PGA TOUR Champions major titles and won the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in 2013. He tied for 10th place in the inaugural Galleri Classic and injury led to his withdrawal before last year’s Galleri Classic began.

Regarded as one of South Africa’s two finest golfers (along with Gary Player), Els hoisted the 1994 and 1997 U.S. Open and 2002 and 2012 Open Championship trophies among his 19 career PGA TOUR victories. The ‘Big Easy’ – his nickname born from his silky-smooth swing producing prodigious ball-striking and distance – seems to have hit his stride on PGA TOUR Champions.

Els is the circuit’s winningest golfer over the past nine months. He made his fourth PGA TOUR Champions season (in 2024) his best yet with three victories in a five-tournament stretch, capped off by garnering his first senior major at the Kaulig Companies Championship, and finished runner-up in the 2024 Charles Schwab Cup standings. He won his seventh PGA TOUR Champions title at the 2025 season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.

Fiji’s greatest golfer, Singh holds five PGA TOUR Champions titles to go with his 34 PGA TOUR victories (14th on the TOUR’s all-time win list), half of those compiled in a three-year span from 2003-05. Singh finished in a tie for fifth place in the inaugural Galleri Classic.

For most of the 2000s, Singh was in a class of the world’s three best golfers, along with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. He became the PGA TOUR’s second FedExCup champion, after Woods, in 2008. Singh won the 2000 Masters and the PGA Championship in 1998 and 2004 – the last major title highlighting Singh’s career year in which he won a staggering nine times on the PGA TOUR. That 2004 season was bookended by winning four tournaments in each of the 2003 and 2005 seasons.

The Galleri Classic continues its partnership with six cancer-related, non-profit beneficiary organizations tied into the Coachella Valley – American Cancer Society, The Desert Cancer Foundation, Eisenhower Health, Hanson House, Pendleton Foundation and Shay’s Warriors Life After Cancer.

The Galleri Classic features daily and weekly grounds tickets (from March 26-30) for $30 and $65, respectively, and clubhouse tickets (only for competition rounds March 28-30) for $75 per day and $150 for the week. Tickets can only be secured online at www.TheGalleriClassic.com.

The Galleri Classic offers free daily grounds tickets to youths 15 and under and U.S. military members. Each youth will receive a daily grounds ticket (from March 27-30) when accompanied by a ticketed adult. Veterans, active, reserve, and retired military personnel are eligible for free daily grounds tickets for themselves and up to two guests when a valid military ID is shown upon entry at the tournament’s admissions gate.

The Champions Club on 18 provides The Galleri Classic’s highest class of spectator experience and hospitality as the all-inclusive ticket option features food and full bar service. The Champions Club offers patrons an exclusive, covered, open-air venue next to the iconic 18th green and Poppie’s Pond, with an up-close view of the 10th tee. Day-specific Champions Club tickets (good only during competition rounds March 28-30) can be secured for $350 per day, or Weekly Champions Club tickets (good March 28-30) are available for $1,050.

Limited availability remains for spots in The Galleri Classic’s two-day pro-am on March 26-27. The Galleri Classic Pro-Am provides an unrivaled opportunity for golf enthusiasts to go inside the ropes for a bucket-list experience of playing the Dinah Shore Tournament Course alongside legendary golfers. Amateurs interested in playing in the Pro-Am can find more information and register at www.TheGalleriClassic.com/pro-am.

The Galleri Classic invites those 18 and older who are interested in a behind-the-scenes experience of how a professional golf tournament operates during tournament week (March 24-30) to join its invaluable team of more than 500 volunteers. Those interested in volunteering can learn more about each committee and submit a form of inquiry towards registration at www.TheGalleriClassic.com/volunteers.

Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing coverage.