News Release Detail | Corporate - The Cliffs Communities

Sorenstam, Marsalis, O’Hurley, Russell to Compete in The Cliffs Challenge - Sunday, September 25 in Asheville, North Carolina

Event employing Wolf golf game format to air on CBS Sports October 22

Download Parking Map & Credentials Info ( 80KB PDF file)

Asheville, N.C. (Sept. 21, 2005) – LPGA Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam, Grammy Award winner Branford Marsalis and acclaimed actors John O’Hurley and Kurt Russell will compete in The Cliffs Challenge Sunday, September 25 at The Cliffs Communities’ Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove. The event will be taped to air Saturday, October 22 from 1-3 p.m. EDT on CBS Sports.

Sorenstam, Marsalis, O’Hurley and Russell will compete for a winner-take-all purse of $250,000. Each participant is guaranteed $50,000 to their favorite charity.

The format for the competition is the game of Wolf, in which the players in a foursome establish a tee off order on the first tee and rotate that same order throughout the round. The player that tees off first is the Wolf. The players take turns playing the Wolf based on the rotation of the established tee off order. The Wolf has the following options: choose one of the other three players as a partner for the hole, or play the hole alone against the other three players. An example: The Wolf would tee off first. The second player in the rotation tees off next. Based on the results of the second player’s drive, the Wolf has the option to select the second player as a partner or pass. (Here is where the strategy begins). Once the third player hits their tee shot, the second player is no longer eligible as a partner for the Wolf. Likewise, once the fourth player hits their drive, the third player is no longer eligible as a partner for The Wolf. Once the fourth player tees off, the Wolf must select the fourth player as a partner for the hole, or play the hole alone against the other three players. Wolf can be played low ball or low total. Points are earned as follows: Winning team, two points each player; Wolf plays alone and wins, Wolf earns three points; Wolf plays alone and one player beats Wolf, all players earn two points except Wolf; no points earned for ties.

The event also features three days of pro-ams at The Cliffs Communities’ award-winning golf courses in the Western Carolinas.

Sorenstam followed her 10-victory 2004 campaign by winning her first three tournaments this year, six of her first eight and she has seven wins on the year, giving her 63 in her career. Included in that total were romps in the season’s first two majors: the Kraft Nabisco Championship and the LPGA Championship. Sorenstam is in her customary spot atop the LPGA money list ($1,957,200) and also leads the LPGA in stroke average (69.33), greens in regulation (76 percent), rounds under par (73.5 percent), top-10 finishes (11 in 14 tournaments), rounds in the 60s (63.3 percent), putting (1.74) and Rolex Player of the Year points (312). She is on her way to passing the $2 million mark in earnings for the fifth straight year and already has amassed $18 million in her career.

Marsalis is a Grammy Award-winning saxophonist who in recent years has made a highly successful switch to classical music. He won Grammy Awards for jazz albums in 1992 for “I Heard You Twice the First Time,” in 1994 for “Barcelona Mona,” and in 2000 for “Contemporary Jazz.” He was nominated for Grammys on eight other occasions. In addition to work in television and film, Marsalis founded his own label in 2002. He is also shaping the future of jazz in the classroom. Members of his quartet were recently named Artists in Residence at North Carolina Central University. Marsalis will be playing for Habitat for Humanities of which he is co-chair.

O’Hurley, perhaps best known for his role on Seinfeld, actually started his acting career in Soap Operas, beginning with Edge of Night in 1983. He also appeared on The Young and the Restless, All My Children, and Loving. He has also done a series of commercials. He now hosts two different shows in syndication - To Tell the Truth five times a week and Get Golf with the PGA Tour on Sunday mornings. He also owns a piece of the real J. Peterman Company and helps market numerous products.

Russell’s acting career began with 10 years as a child star. He then spent the early 1970s playing minor league baseball. In 1979, he gave a classic performance as Elvis Presley in John Carpenter's ABC-TV movie. He followed with roles in a string of well-received films: "Used Cars," "Escape from New York," "The Thing" and "Silkwood." He also enjoyed successful roles in "Tango and Cash" and "Backdraft." Russell’s charity is Kurt Russell/Goldie Hawn’s Bright Light Foundation.