Thanks to a closed loop water system that catches run-off water and reuses it for the courses the 600-acre JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa will be “the most ecologically friendly courses built in the United States,” PGA Tour Commissioner Timp Finchem said.

The two courses, AT&T Canyons Course and the AT&T Oaks Course are being built with the infrastructure to host future PGA tournaments and will only be open to JW Marriott hotel guests and club members.

Other sponsor’s exemptions went to 1999 Bob Hope Classic winner David Duval, Steve Elkington, Billy Mayfair, Rocco Mediate, Rickie Fowler, Joe Ogilvie and Jamie Lovemark.

The 2005 U.S. Junior Amateur medalist 22-year-old Saunders turned pro last year after a successful amateur career at Clemson. Palmer has secured the Bob Hope Classic five times during his career.

The event will take place January 18-24 in La Quinta, CA.

Since the beginning of The Presidents Cup in 1994, the event has raised nearly $22 million in proceeds that have been donated for charity organizations. As a part of the PGA Tour’s partnership agreement with the city of San Francisco $500,000 has been donated to The First Tee of San Francisco and in March, the PGA Tour contributed a $100,000 donation on behalf of The Presidents Cup to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal, an organization put together shortly after the devastating fires in Victoria, Australia.

The Presidents Cup, a a team match play style competition that only features 24 of the world’s top golfers, half from the U.S. and the other half from around the globe (excluding Europe) is held every two years and has alternated between the U.S. and and international venues since 1996. This year the U.S. Team defeated the Internationals retaining the Cup from this October at Harding Park GC in San Francisco.

The Presidents Cup is a little different than most golf events in the sense that there is no purse or prize money because each competitor allocates a portion of the funds raised to a charity of his choice.

“We are extremely proud of the $4.2 million raised through The Presidents Cup 2009,” PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said. “Thanks to the support of the San Francisco community, thousands of volunteers, two incredibly engaged and committed captains in Fred Couples and Greg Norman, as well as our Global Partner Citi, The Presidents Cup continues to make an impact on deserving charities across the globe.”

“It’s a special event in that 24 players of the world’s best players — plus the captains and captain’s assistants — compete in The Presidents Cup not only for the pride of their country and team, but also for the honor of selecting charitable causes close to their hearts to benefit from the net revenues. I’d like to thank each of them for putting on a stellar show at Harding Park in October and ensuring The Presidents Cup’s success, which is felt long after the last putt drops.”

In 2011 the Presidents Cup will be played in Australia but the PGA Tour’s impact in the San Francisco Bay Area will remain. In October 2010 the Charles Schwab Cup Championship will be played at Harding Park Golf Club, Nationwide Tour’s Stonebrae Classic at TPC San Francisco at Stonebrae will be held held in Hayward, Calif., in April, and the PGA Tour’s Frys.com Open is moving to San Martin, Calif., in 2010.

The Presidents Cup was created to give the world’s best non-European golfers the chance to compete in an international team match-play competition. Six of the eight previous Presidents Cups have been won by the U.S. Team and the only outright win by an International team happened in 1998 in Melbourne. The 2003 Presidents Cup ended in a tie.

To follow is a history of charitable contributions from The Presidents Cup proceeds:

1994 — $750,000
1996 — $800,000
1998 — $2.9 million
2000 — $2.8 million
2003 — $2.8 million
2005 — $3.5 million
2007 — $4.2 million
2009 — $4.2 million
Total: $21.95 million