Welcome to CaddyBytes.com’s tournament page for the 2011 ADT Skills Challenge golf tournament.  

The ADT Challenge will be in it's 21st year of competition and is an officially sanctioned PGA TOUR Challenge Season event.

In the past the competition challenges players 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.  In 2009 & 2010 a new format was established and that will be the format again here in 2011.  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 taping of the event.  Following is this year's field and following that is the breakdown of the format and purse:

DYNAMIC DUO SORENSTAM, PRESSEL VS. PGA TOUR STARS

 IN 20^th ADT SKILLS CHALLENGE PRESENTED BY TYCO

 Another ADT Skills 1^st  - women vs. Price/O’Meara, Faldo/Mediate, Kelly/Z. Johnson  

NEW YORK, NY (October 19, 2011) – Legendary LPGA performer Annika Sorenstam and current tour standout Morgan Pressel will break new ground in professional golf’s battle of the sexes November 7 when they team up to compete against the men in the 2011 ADT Skills Challenge at The Breakers in Palm Beach, FL.  

It will be Sorenstam’s first professional competition since the LPGA’s 2008 season-ending ADT Championship, a span of almost three years.  

This year’s ADT Skills Challenge is the landmark 20th annual and will mark the first time that women will form a tandem to battle male counterparts in pursuit of gender pride and $800,000 in prize money.  Sorenstam (and Paula Creamer) have competed individually in past ADT Skills Challenges and Sorenstam famously teed it up against the men in the PGA Tour’s Colonial Open in 2003. The men’s teams are defending champions Nick Price and Mark O’Meara plus Nick Faldo/Rocco Mediate and Jerry Kelly/Zach Johnson.  The event is being played at The Breakers for the third consecutive year.

The PGA Tour-sanctioned competition is one of the longest-running post-Fed Ex Cup events in golf and the only one that remains on broadcast network TV.  NBC Sports will televise the event on Saturday, December 24, and Sunday, December 25, from 4-6 p.m. ET as the only golf on network television that holiday weekend, the final full weekend of the year.  

“It’s the caliber of talent, the unpredictable nature of the event, and the unprecedented access to the players’ conversations and banter that has ensured the longevity of this spectacular competition,” said John Kenning , President ADT North America Commercial.   “ADT has built a tremendous partnership with NBC Sports over the past decade as the title sponsor of this event.   We have enjoyed the relationship and are pleased to host the event in South Florida where ADT, a Tyco International company, is headquartered.”  

“One of ADT’s missions is to give back to the communities where it does business, so this year in honor of the 20th anniversary of ADT Skills, ADT is contributing $20,000 each to two charities in Palm Beach County,” said John Koch, President of ADT North America Residential and Small Business. “The YMCA of Boca Raton will use its funds to help reduce the rate of childhood drowning in Palm Beach County and the YWCA of Palm Beach has targeted its contribution toward children and youth programs.”  

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 10th 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 event.  

Sorenstam, the native Swede whose achievements rank her as one of the most successful golfers in history, has won a record 90 international tournaments as a professional.  A member of both the World Golf and LPGA Halls of Fame, she sits atop the LPGA's career money list with earnings of over $22 million.  Sorenstam is married to Mike McGee and has a three year-old daughter, Ava Madelyn.  She gave birth to her second child, William Nicholas, this past March.  

In 2004, Sorenstam became the first woman to compete in the ADT Skills Challenge, finishing sixth behind winner Faldo and ahead of PGA Tour standouts Chris Riley and Price.  She finished seventh the following year and now returns to join Pressel as the first female team to compete against the men.  

Pressel, currently ranked 13th on the LPGA Tour Money list, has six top 10 finishes this year, her sixth on tour.  She has two tour victories, the 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship and the 2008 Kapalua LPGA Classic.  Pressel resides in Boca Raton, FL, just a few miles from The Breakers in Palm Beach.  

Prominent former PGA Tour star and network television expert analyst Faldo will bring several years of ADT Skills Challenge experience to the 2011 competition.  In addition to his 2004 win, Faldo finished in the middle of the pack in 2002 and 2003.  The winner of three British Opens and three Masters, he was the top-ranked player in the world for 98 weeks.  He is now the lead golf analyst for CBS Sports.  

Faldo’s partner, Mediate, is known best for his performance in the 2008 U.S. Open, when he finished second to Tiger Woods in an 18-hole playoff.  In the 2008 ADT Skills Challenge, he finished second alongside partner Matt Achatz in that year’s unique competition, which paired PGA Tour players with their caddies in pursuit of over $800,000 in prize money. He is the winner of five PGA Tour championships.  

The 2010 ADT Skills Champions, O’Meara and Price, are two of the most popular players in professional golf.  O’Meara is best remembered for his 1998 season when he won both the British Open and the Masters, rising to number two in the world rankings.  Price was most accomplished in the early 90s when he won two PGA Championships and one British Open.  Price will be competing in the ADT Skills Challenge for the eleventh time.  Both remain top-flight players on The Champions Tour.  

The team of Kelly and Johnson will be playing in the ADT Skills Challenge for the first time.  Kelly owns three PGA Tour titles and four 2011 top 10 finishes.  Johnson won the 2007 Masters and has six other PGA Tour victories.  His best PGA Tour finish this year is 3rd at the John Deere Classic.

What - The ADT Skills Challenge is the 20th annual competition to determine the best situational shotmakers from the select field of players.

 

Format – 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 10^th 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.

 

Sanction- The ADT Skills Challenge is sanctioned by the PGA Tour

 

Television - NBC Sports, Saturday, Jan. 1 and Sunday, Jan. 2 from 4-6 p.m. in all time zones (check local listings).  It is the only golf on network television that first weekend of the new year.

 

Where – Ocean Course, The Breakers - Palm Beach, FL

 

Prize Money - Total prize is $800,000        

 

The prize money for Skills #1-5 will be as follows:

1^st Place Team will Split $25,000

2^nd Place Team will Split $15,000

3^rd Place Team will Split $13,000

4^th Place Team will Split $10,000

 

The prize money for Skill #6, the Korbel Short Iron, is:

1^st Place Team will Split $35,000

2^nd Place Team will Split $20,000

3^rd Place Team will Split $16,000

4^th Place Team will Split $14,000

 

The Reverse Scramble payout is as follows:

1^st Place Team will Split $200,000

2^nd Place Team will Split $100,000

3^rd and 4^th Place Team will Split $50,000

 

Past Champions

 

2009- Brandt Snedeker and Boo Weekley               2000- Lee Janzen

2008- Greg Norman and Gregory Norman Jr.         1999- Bill Andrade

2007- John Elway and Natalie Gulbis                      1998- Nick Price

2006- Jason Gore and Dan Marino                         1997- Bill Andrade

2005- Peter Jacobsen                                             1996- Brad Faxon

2004- Nick Faldo                                                   1995- Brad Faxon

2003- Mark McGwire                                            1994- Gary Player 

2002- Matt Kuchar                                                 1993- Peter Jacobsen

2001- Vijay Singh                                                  1992- Peter Jacobsen

 
Click Here to our updated 2010 ADT Challenge golf tournament News Stories Page:




Visit our Pro Shop for the Holidays Here: 

And stay tuned to CaddyBytes for our  exclusive interviews, stories, pictures, and news come tournament week!

The Virtual Golf Tours are great visual golf tours of some famous courses...

Our Resource of Caddy Books provides you with a bibliographical resource of all the books ever written on, about, or by golf caddies! (*Now with Book Reviews added!)

2008 Ryder Cup
Highlights DVD -
U.S. Wins!



New in updated model in 2012!
The Sonocaddie
Personal GPS
Yardage Caddie
Click Here:

2012 Ryder Cup 
Official Leroy Neiman
Official Art Work
Medinah in Chicago
September 2012 
Poster & Commissioned Art
To Get Your's Now! 
Click Here:


New in 2012! Revolutionary
Indoor Putting Greens:

Quick & Easy to set up or
take down.  5/8ths inch thick indoor
putting green system.  Pictured is the
4 foot by 14 bidirectional - you request the Stimp Speed!
- both down and into grain putting.  (About 1 Stimp Foot difference).  Two holes on one end one on the other.  Free Trim all the way round.  (CaddyBytes Special Price!)  Save $50 over GolfSmith or Birdieball - same green!  Free Shipping!
Click Here:

#1 Teaching Aid!
The Smart Stick:



-eliminate ugly slices & hooksfrom your golf game.  This device provides instant feedback, allows you to see mistakes, & helps make immediate corrections! Click Here:

Signup for the CaddyBytes Newsletter Here: When you Submit your email address you will receive information about how to get a collectible BC PTCA Caddy Doll, as well as upcoming CaddyBytes News, Golf Product Specials and Giveaways! CaddyBytes.com will not share your email address with Anyone, Ever! (Also: We've recently updated our Email Security!)