PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Fred Couples, fresh off his role as Captain of the victorious United States Presidents Cup team, will replace the injured Nick Watney in The ADT Golf Skills Challenge at The Breakers in Palm Beach, FL.
The 18th renewal of the PGA Tour's Challenge Season event features eight PGA Tour pros competing for $800,000 in prize money. This year's format features four teams - Kenny Perry/J.B. Holmes, Brandt Snedeker/Boo Weekley, Nick Price/Fred Funk and Hunter Mahan/Fred Couples - squaring off in the situational shotmaking event with a new addition, the "Reverse Scramble," which will culminate the competition.
The two-time PGA Tour Player of the Year (1991, 1992), Couples won The Masters in 1992 and The Players Championship in both 1984 and 1987. On October 11, Couples added another accomplishment to his resume when his Presidents Cup squad finished off the International Team, 19 ½ - 14 ½, at Harding Park in San Francisco. Couples played in the ADT Skills Challenge last year, when he and his caddie, Joe LaCava, competed against three other pro/caddie combinations.
Watney injured his wrist at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children Open last week in Las Vegas.
The six mainstay skills - Long Drive, Mid-Iron, Bunker Shot, Chip Shot, Trouble Shot and Short Iron -- will be followed by the "Reverse Scramble," representing the seventh and eighth skills. In the "Reverse Scramble," the four teams will be seeded according to prize money won in the first six skills. With 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3, the teams will play the 14th hole at The Breakers' Ocean Course. The two surviving teams will then compete in another one-hole "Reverse Scramble" for the weighted sum of $200,000 in prize money, enabling most pairs to remain in contention to the end.
Contrary to the traditional scramble format, the rules of the "Reverse Scramble" call for the opposing team to select which shot its rival twosome must play, adding a new dimension to the competition. The format is especially conducive to the ADT Skills Challenge TV production approach, which showcases the personalities of the players, all of whom are equipped with microphones throughout.
The ADT Skills Challenge will be telecast on NBC Saturday, December 26 and Sunday, December 27, as the only golf on network TV that final weekend of the year.
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