News Release Detail | Corporate - The Cliffs Communities

Saturday, October 22
1:00 – 3:00 pm EDT
12:00 – 2:00 pm CT
11:00 AM – 1:00 pm MT
10:00 AM – 12:00 pm PT

The Event
The ADT Cliffs Challenge is a made-for-television pro-celebrity charity golf event featuring LPGA Tour leader ANNIKA SORENSTAM, celebrity actors JOHN O’HURLEY and KURT RUSSELL, and three-time Grammy Award winning jazz musician BRANFORD MARSALIS. Sorenstam, Marsalis, O’Hurley and Russell will compete for a winner-take-all purse of $250,000. Each celebrity is guaranteed $50,000 to their favorite charity.

The Format
The ADT Cliffs Challenge employed the Wolf format. In Wolf, a tee-off order is determined at the beginning of the round, and that order is rotated throughout the 18-hole event. Depending on the hole, the first person who tees off first plays as the Wolf; the Wolf is then given the option of playing with a partner or playing alone. Points are earned at the end of each hole, and the winner is determined by the cumulative totals at the end of the round. At 17 and 18, the player in last has the opportunity to bet a maximum of the point differential between last and first place, providing an instance that may find the worth of those final two holes dramatically increasing.

The Location
The ADT Cliffs Challenge takes place at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove, Asheville’s only Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course. The epitome of the spot where the mountains meet the meadowlands, The Cliffs at Walnut Cove is a cradled natural amphitheater harbored by the Pisgah National Forest and Blue Ridge Parkway, yet still merely minutes from downtown Asheville, NC. Asheville's only gated, master-planned golf community, The Cliffs at Walnut Cove rests on 1,500 acres of dense forests, rolling meadows, and clear streams. The peace is palpable here, and the living, phenomenal.

The Cliffs at Walnut Cove features a master plan of unparalleled amenities, including a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course already called an “instant classic” by Resort Living Magazine, an Old World European Club Village, Wellness and Nature Centers, and hiking, biking, and walking trails. Through the establishment of architectural guidelines and minimum standards, the property owners of Walnut Cove enjoy the assurance of maximized long-term preservation of values, and the certainty of the highest quality of lifestyle.

As in all of The Cliffs' communities, membership at Walnut Cove carries privileges throughout The Cliffs and includes access to over $100 million in amenities currently in place, including five championship golf courses, four clubhouses, three wellness centers, equestrian center, private marina, and more.

The Players

ANNIKA SORENSTAM has won more golf tournaments over the past two seasons than any other golfer on any of the professional tours. She ties the record of most Player of the Year awards (seven), has won nine majors, and has set or tied various money records, including becoming the first player to reach $15 million in career earnings. In 2004, Annika became the first woman to compete in the PGA Tour’s annual Skins Game, joining Fred Couples, Tiger Woods and Adam Scott. She is the top LPGA player in the world with 62 career victories and was inducted into the LPGA’s Hall of Fame on October 10, 2003, one day past her 33rd birthday.

JOHN O’HURLEY was perhaps best known as J. Peterman on the hit television series Seinfeld. This past summer his popularity soared as a celebrity dancer in the summer-ratings smash Dancing with the Stars on ABC. After an overwhelming response by the fans that O’Hurley should have won the competition (ABC soap opera star Kelly Monaco was named the winner), the network brought the two back, along with their professional dancing partners, for a special “dance-off.” After a very exciting competition, O’Hurley emerged victorious.Mr. O’Hurley has been a long-time friend of The Cliffs, participating since 2001 in the Nationwide Tour BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs. Mr. O’Hurley has chosen Golfers Against Cancer to receive $50,000, or the $300,000 purse should he win.

KURT RUSSELL is one of Hollywood's most famous faces and best-loved actors. His acting career includes 44 roles, including Escape from New York, Tequila Sunrise, Backdraft, 3000 Miles to Graceland and Miracle, the story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team. His latest film, Poseidon directed by Wolfgang Petersen, is scheduled to be released next summer. He is the long-time partner of actress Goldie Hawn.

BRANFORD MARSALIS, a New Orleans native, is a renowned jazz musician and three-time Grammy Award winner. Marsalis is the Honorary Chair of Habitat for Humanity's New Orleans Relief Effort and has established the Hurricane Katrina Musicians Relief Fund. From 1992 to 1995 he was musical director of the The Tonight Show Band.