INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- In a lot of ways, Phil Mickelson is perfect for the LG Skins Game. His swashbuckling, go-for-broke style reminiscent of the great Arnold Palmer makes him a threat to win every hole, from anywhere. And the steadfast allegiance with which the throngs of Phil fans urge him on every week can only help in an event where the entire gallery is focused on one group, and it happens to contain you and all of your competitors.
Mickelson, the world's second-ranked golfer who will play in his third LG Skins Game this Thanksgiving weekend, will be looking for his first victory, and as a competitor in the truest sense of the word, Mickelson will be thirsty to get it - he finished second in 2002 and third in 2003.
"It's all about fun," said Mickelson, who has won 34 PGA TOUR events and three major championships. "The weather's great in the desert, the courses are a kick to play, and the players enjoy the camaraderie of the event. But we are competitors, too, and winning the Skins Game would mean I had an absolute blast. I'm looking forward to it."
However, the world's most famous left-hander will have to beat the cool Canadian Stephen Ames. Similar to LG SKINS GAME king Fred Couples, Ames plays with a laid-back demeanor, plodding along until the right moment, when he drops a timely birdie and snatches a pile of skins away from the field. Ames would become only the second player in LG SKINS GAME history - after the late, great Payne Stewart - to win three consecutive LG SKINS GAMES.
Ames and Mickelson will also face the congenial Rocco Mediate, the darling of Torrey Pines who fell one shot shy of world No. 1 Tiger Woods in an 18-plus-hole playoff at this year's U.S. Open; and seven-time PGA TOUR winner K.J. Choi, in the $1 million LG SKINS GAME on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 29-30, at the Celebrity Course at Indian Wells Golf Resort.
Renowned for its high entertainment value on Thanksgiving weekend, the LG SKINS GAME is in its 26th year and will be produced by ESPN and aired on ABC Saturday, Nov. 29 from 1-3:30 p.m. EST and on Sunday, Nov. 30 from 3:30-6 p.m. EST (check local listings). This is the 18th year ABC has served as the U.S. broadcast home to the Skins Game.
During the past 25 years, the list of participants in the LG SKINS GAME reads like a who's who of the greats in golf - Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Woods, Tom Watson, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Couples, Curtis Strange, Nick Faldo, Raymond Floyd, Tom Kite, Paul Azinger, Vijay Singh, Colin Montgomerie, Stewart, Greg Norman, Mark O'Meara, Tom Lehman, Fuzzy Zoeller, John Daly, Sergio Garcia, Corey Pavin, Adam Scott, Peter Jacobsen, Jesper Parnevik, David Duval, Fred Funk, Ames, Zach Johnson, and the only female player, Annika Sorenstam.
Mickelson, surely a household name in golf for years to come, only adds to the roll call of greats to grace the airwaves over the past 25 Thanksgiving weekends.
"Being a part of this is an honor for me," said Mickelson. "When I was a young kid, it was a treat to watch the greats of the game playing and it's been fun to see how the Skins Game has evolved over the years. It's the granddaddy of the challenge season but it never gets old."
The long-hitting left-hander has long been a mainstay on PGA TOUR leaderboards. Mickelson is tied for second, behind Woods, in PGA TOUR victories among active TOUR players, and is tied for 13th on the all-time PGA TOUR win list. He ranks third on the PGA TOUR's career money list with over $50 million earned. He won for the first time on the PGA TOUR as an amateur - the first since amateur superstar Scott Verplank did it in 1985 - when he won the 1991 Northern Telecom Open by one stroke. Since then, he's averaged two wins a year over his 17-year career.
That win, though, came as a surprise to no one who knew the player widely regarded as one of the two most talented players on the PGA TOUR today. Mickelson, who's naturally right-handed but learned the game mirroring his dad's swing, began hitting balls at 18 months. A few years later, he was sneaking out of the house to go practice. As a teenager, he'd forgo the normal social activities on Friday nights because he'd have to get up early Saturday mornings to hit the course. It was also around that same time that he was perfecting his prodigious touch around the greens on the complex in his backyard. Golf was his destiny.
All this molded Mickelson into one of the best junior players in the world and earned him a spot on the Arizona State University golf team. He parlayed that into a truly unforgettable collegiate career. He joined just three other players in becoming a four-time, first-team All-American and, in 1990, became one of four players to win the U.S. Amateur and NCAA Championship in the same year - the others are Nicklaus, Woods and Ryan Moore.
Then came the PGA TOUR. After his victory as an amateur in 1991, he turned pro in 1992 and won two tournaments in 1993. He won four times in 1996, including his first three starts, twice in 1997 and once in 1998. Around this time, he had yet to win a major championship and began to wear the double-edged title of "Best Player Never to Have Won a Major." Although he continued to rattle off TOUR wins, majors eluded him. He finished second to Stewart in a memorable 1999 U.S. Open; second again to David Toms in the 2001 PGA Championship, where Toms dropped a birdie putt on the par-5 72nd hole to stay one shot clear; second to Woods at the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black; and third at the Masters three years in a row from 2001-2003, among other close calls.
Finally, it happened. In the 2004 Masters, he was 4-under on the back nine coming to the 72nd hole. Tied with Ernie Els, Mickelson dropped an 18-foot birdie putt that fate curled in on the bottom lip to win his first major championship. Over the next three years, he won two more - the 2005 PGA Championship and the 2006 Masters.
This season, it's been more of Mickelson as usual. He won the Northern Trust Open in February and the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial in May, where he hit a memorable 9-iron from the left trees to 9 feet on the final hole and made the birdie putt to win. From there, he finished in the top 20 in eight of his nine remaining tournaments and capped off the year with a tie for third at the TOUR Championship. His four rounds in the 60s left him one shot out of a playoff with winner Camilo Villegas and Sergio Garcia. He finished 2008 with eight top-10 finishes and a career-best 19 top-25s.
In the LG SKINS GAME, players compete for money for each hole rather than the low score for the round. A player must win a hole outright to win a skin. If a hole is tied, the skin(s) and money carry over to the next hole. Each of the first six holes (one through six) will be worth $25,000. Each of the second six holes (seven through 12) will be worth $50,000. Holes 13 through 17 will each be worth $70,000, and the 18th hole, the LG Super Skin, will be worth $200,000. The foursome will play for $300,000 on Saturday and $700,000 on Sunday. Twenty percent of the winnings ($200,000 total) will be donated to the players' favorite charities.
The photogenic Celebrity Course, which opened in November of 2006 to rave reviews, hosts the LG SKINS GAME for the second consecutive year and will host the event through 2009. Last year, the par-72, 7,088-yard course lived up to expectations by giving the professionals a dramatic stage loaded with risk/reward scenarios. For example on the par-5, fourth hole Couples went for the island green in two, managing to avoid the water, but instead he found a green-side bunker. Then, in what will certainly make highlight clips for years to come, Couples holed out for eagle and three skins, worth $75,000. In addition to competitive drama, the Clive Clark-designed Celebrity Course features aesthetic drama such as spectacular mountain views, streams, brooks and split-level lakes connected by cascading waterfalls. Vibrant desert wildflowers along with mature trees neatly frame the fairways and greens adding yet another dimension to the Celebrity Course's alluring charm.
A limited number of tickets are available for the LG SKINS GAME. Fans can enjoy all three days of action with a three-day pass for $75. Individual day tickets are priced at $25 for Friday's LG SKINS GAME CELEBRITY PRO-AM; $45 for Saturday's first round and $35 for Sunday's final nine holes. There is also a daily VIP ticket for $150 per day, or enjoy the three-day VIP ticket for $300. Indian Wells residents will receive a special rate and can purchase their tickets at the Indian Wells Golf Resort Golf Shop or City Hall. Parking and shuttle service are free. Tickets may be purchased online at www.indianwells.com or in person at the Indian Wells Golf Resort, 44-500 Indian Wells Lane, 8 a.m.-3 p.m., seven days a week, or Indian Wells City Hall, 44-950 Eldorado Drive, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday. Tickets may also be available for purchase during LG SKINS GAME weekend. Children under 17 years of age are admitted free.
The popular event was first played in 1983 at the Desert Highlands in Scottsdale, Ariz. for two years before moving to Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta, Calif. in 1985. The Coachella Valley became a permanent fixture for the event beginning in 1986. The TPC at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif. was home from 1986-1991 and then the site shifted to BIGHORN Golf Club in Palm Desert from 1992-1995. Rancho La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, Calif. hosted from 1996-1998, followed by Landmark Golf Club in Indio, Calif. from 1999-2002. The LG SKINS GAME was played at Trilogy Golf Club in La Quinta, Calif. from 2003-2006.
About LG Electronics
LG Electronics North America, based in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., is the regional headquarters of LG Electronics, Inc., a global force in consumer electronics, mobile communications and home appliances. In the United States, Canada and Mexico, LG Electronics sells a wide range of consumer electronics (digital display and digital media) products, mobile phones and digital appliances, under LG's "Life's Good" marketing theme. For more information about the title sponsor of the LG SKINS GAME, please visit www.LGusa.com or www.lgskinsgame.com.
About The City of Indian Wells
The City of Indian Wells is a world-renowned residential and resort destination located in the heart of the Southern California Desert Resorts, only 20 minutes from Palm Springs International Airport. Indian Wells is home to the famed Indian Wells Golf Resort, which recently underwent an $80 million transformation. Owned by the city and professionally managed by OB Sports, this upscale public access resort features the IW Club, a stunning, new 53,000-square-foot upscale clubhouse; The Celebrity and Players' Courses; a lighted natural grass putting course; spacious Golf Shop and Callaway Golf Performance Center, dining and banquet facilities, and more. Four luxurious hotels are conveniently located adjacent to the Golf Resort campus—Hyatt Grand Champions Resort, Villas & Spa; Indian Wells Resort Hotel; Miramonte Resort & Spa; and the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa. The city's unique attractions also include the state-of-the-art Indian Wells Tennis Garden, home of the Indian Wells Tennis Tournament; and The Living Desert, the only zoo and botanical garden dedicated to preservation of the desert eco-system. Premier city amenities encompass outstanding spas, restaurants, boutiques, and country club communities. Indian Wells enjoys the benefits of being one of California's wealthiest and financially well managed cities, and sponsors many sporting and cultural events including the LG Skins Game, the Indian Wells Tennis Tournament, Desert Town Hall-Indian Wells lecture series, The Palm Springs International Film Festival, and Indian Wells Arts Festival.
About IMG Sports Media
IMG Sports Media, the sports production and distribution division of IMG Worldwide, is the world's largest independent producer and distributor of sports programming. IMG Sports Media produces more than 8,000 hours of television, online, mobile and radio sports content across 240 categories of sports, including golf, football (soccer), tennis, cricket, cycling, motor sports and mixed martial arts. IMG Sports Media also represents the broadcast rights to many of the world's premier sporting events and maintains the world's largest sports archive with more than 250,000 hours of footage. More information is available at www.imgworld.com.
About ESPN Regional Television
The nation's largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces more than 900 sporting events. Programming includes football, basketball, NCAA events, golf and NHRA events accounting for more than 2,200 live and/or original hours of programming. In addition to event ownership, ERT is the production headquarters for ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network; syndication rights-holder and producer of national, regional and local shows for college conferences (e.g. - BIG EAST, Big 12, Mid-American, Sun Belt, WAC). ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several other sporting events, including collegiate football events: the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl; The Home Depot College Football Awards; the MEAC/SWAC Challenge; the New Mexico Bowl; the Papajohns.com Bowl; the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl; the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl; and the St Petersburg Bowl; collegiate basketball events: the Anaheim Classic (Calif.); the Charleston Classic (S.C.); the Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); the O'Reilly Auto Parts All-College Basketball Classic (Oklahoma City); the O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan); the O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters; and the SEC/BIG EAST Invitational; as well as the ESPN National Golf Challenge presented by Callaway. For more information, visit www.espnplus.com.
Contacts:
Steve Brener/Brian Robin/Damian Secore, (818) 462-5598
John Taylor, LG Electronics, (847) 941-8181, jtaylor@lge.com
Nancy Samuelson, City of Indian Wells, (760) 346-2489
Mark Mandel, ESPN/ABC, Mark.D.Mandel@espn.com
