NEW YORK -- Four of the world’s most prominent pro golfers partner with current and former star athletes on national television for the 15th annual ADT Golf Skills Challenge, which airs on NBC Dec. 30 and 31 from 4-6 p.m. ET both days.
The following pairings compete for a total of $820,000 in prize money in the event’s first-ever team competition:
• Peter Jacobsen, winner of the 2004 U.S. Senior Open and the 2005 Senior Player Championship, and Roger Clemens of the Houston Astros, one of the best pitchers in baseball history.
• Jason Gore, PGA Tour phenom and winner of the 2005 84 Lumber Classic, and Dan Marino, NFL Hall of Famer and former Miami Dolphins’ great who holds the NFL records for single season and career passing yards.
• Trevor Immelman, PGA Tour Rookie of the Year contender and winner of the 2006 Cialis Western Open, and Jerry Rice, the consensus greatest wide receiver in NFL history.
• Paula Creamer, top LPGA pro and 2005 Rookie of the Year, and Sterling Sharpe, the five-time NFL All-Pro.
Players are challenged through a series of eight skills: Long drive, greenside bunker, putting, long iron, trouble shot, fairway bunker, chip shot and the culminating skill, short iron.
The 2006 format has been refined to place 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.
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 Norman, Faldo, 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.
All eight players will wear microphones as part of an elaborate production that showcases great shot-making and player personalities more than any other televised golf event.
After The Skins Game, is it the longest-running event in golf’s end-of-the-year “Challenge Season” and it is the only golf competition available on network television that last weekend of the year.
Dan Hicks, analyst Gary Koch and Roger Maltbie will call the action for NBC Sports.
The competition was taped last month at the Boca Raton (Fla.) Resort & Club.
About ADT Security Services, Inc.
Celebrating its 132nd anniversary, ADT Security Services, Inc., a unit of Tyco Fire & Security, is the largest provider of electronic security services to more than 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 www.adt.com.
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