STANFORD, Calif. (www.BankOfTheWestClassic.com) – The Bank of the West Classic and Valspar Paint teamed up to send Kevin Chow, the winner of the Valspar Paint Performance Challenge, and a lucky guest to New York for a chance to play the pros at the US Open on August 23 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Chow, one of four contestants to reach the finals of the challenge, hit the targets seven times in the preliminary stage and seven times on Stadium court in the final round to earn the privilege to represent the Bank of the West Classic at the US Open on Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day.
During preliminaries, Chow and a friend hit enough targets to make the final cut. In an ironic twist of fate, Chow, who was wearing sandals, borrowed his friend’s sneakers and eventually defeated him for the win.
Additionally, Chow will have to make the ultimate decision in choosing whether to take his mother or his girlfriend. Chow will be competing against a representative from every US Open Series tournament.
Each participant had one minute to hit as many targets on the court as possible: 30 seconds forehand and 30 seconds backhand. Balls were served by feeders and each of the six targets hit was worth one point.
ABOUT THE BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC: The Bank of the West Classic is the longest-running women-only professional tennis tournament in the world and is the first stop of the US Open Series. A Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Tier II event, the Bank of the West Classic features a 28-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw with total prize money of $600,000. Held on Stanford University’s campus at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium since 1997, former champions include: Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Andrea Jaeger, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport and Venus Williams. The Bank of the West Classic is owned and operated by IMG.
ABOUT BANK OF THE WEST: Founded in 1874 and headquartered in San Francisco, $62 billion-asset Bank of the West is the second-largest commercial bank based in California. Bank of the West offers a full range of business, trust, international and personal banking services. The bank currently operates more than 700 commercial and retail banking locations in 19 Western and Midwestern states. In 2008, Bank of the West ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Retail Banks in the West” by J.D. Power and Associates. Bank of the West's holding company, BancWest Corporation, is owned by BNP Paribas, a leading global financial services institution ranked by Standard & Poor's as one of the world's four strongest banks. More information is available at www.bankofthewest.com.