BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Four of the world’s most prominent pro golfers will partner with current and former star athletes in the 2007 ADT Golf Skills Challenge to take place Monday, Nov. 5, at The Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club in Miami, Florida.
A total of $820,000 in prize money is at stake in the event’s first-ever team competition with the following pairings set:
· Greg Norman, golf icon and member of the World Golf Hall of Fame -- affectionately known by fans as the “Great White Shark” -- and future NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, the consensus greatest wide receiver in NFL history.
· Peter Jacobsen, winner of the 2004 U.S. Senior Open and the 2005 Senior Players Championship, plus past winner of the ADT Skills in 1992, 1993 and 2005, and New York Yankees standout Roger Clemens, one of the best pitchers in baseball history.
· Bubba Watson, ranked in the top 100 of the Official World Golf Rankings and member of the 2007 U.S. Open team, and Dan Marino, NFL Hall of Famer and former Miami Dolphins’ great who holds the NFL records for single season and career passing yards.
· Natalie Gulbis, top LPGA pro, winner of the 2007 Evian Masters and member of both the 2005 and 2007 victorious U.S. Solheim Cup teams, and John Elway, the NFL Hall of Famer and two-time Super Bowl Champion quarterback of the Denver Broncos.
Players are challenged through a series of eight skills: Long Drive, Mid Iron Shot, Greenside Bunker, Pitch Over Hazard, Trouble Shot, Chip Shot, Putting and the culminating skill, Short Iron.
The 2007 format places maximum emphasis on the final skill – the short iron. A $250,000 first prize will be at stake on that skill alone with the teams earning an extra short iron shot for every skill that they win from among the first seven. The team that wins each skill will also split $20,000.
In some cases, competitors are donating prize money to designated charities to be determined.
The total prize money follows:
* First Place Team splits - $250,000
* Second Place Team splits - $150,000
* Third Place Team splits - $135,000
* Fourth Place Team splits - $125,000
With each skill also awarding $20,000, total prize money is $820,000.
Marino returns this year as the defending champion after capturing the title last year with his partner Jason Gore.
Over the years, the competition has featured the biggest names in golf, including Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Phil Mickelson, Nick Faldo, Vijay Singh and Mike Weir. In 2003, a format change allowed for the inclusion of former record-setting Major League Baseball slugger Mark McGwire, who went on to win the competition, outperforming a field of Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Peter Jacobsen, Padraig Harrington, Colin Montgomerie, Dudley Hart, Paul Azinger and Rich Beem. Since that time, the event has continued to expand its pool of participants to athletes from various professional sports.
Now in its 16th year, the ADT Skills Challenge is among the longest running events from golf’s so-called “Challenge Season.” It is etched on the calendar as the only golf on network television (NBC) in late December, when the sport is in its off season. All eight players will wear microphones as part of an elaborate production that showcases great shot-making and player personalities for the televised event scheduled to air on Saturday and Sunday, December 29th and 30th on NBC.
Boca Raton-based ADT Security Services returns as the title sponsor of the event for its sixth consecutive year.
About ADT Security Services
Celebrating its 133rd anniversary, ADT Security Services, a unit of Tyco International, is the largest provider of electronic security services to nearly six million commercial, government and residential customers throughout North America. ADT's total security solutions include intrusion, fire protection, closed circuit television, access control, critical condition monitoring, electronic article surveillance, radio frequency identification (RFID) and integrated systems. ADT's Web site address is http://www.adt.com/.
