News Release Detail | Corporate - The Cliffs Communities

O'Hurley's Dramatic Victory over Sorenstam, Marsails, Russell - The ADT Cliffs Challenge

The actor’s clutch finish earns $300,000 for Golfers Against Cancer

Asheville, N.C. (Oct. 22, 2005) – Actor John O’Hurley’s dramatic victory over LPGA Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam, Grammy Award winner Branford Marsalis and actor Kurt Russell in The ADT Cliffs Challenge aired Saturday, Oct. 22 from 1-3 p.m. EDT on CBS Sports. Bill Macatee and Mary Bryan were the announcers. The made-for-TV charity event was taped Sept. 25 at The Cliffs Communities’ Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove in Asheville, N.C.

The outcome of The Cliffs Challenge remained in doubt until the final putt. O’Hurley seized the lead on the 512-yard, par-5 17th hole, when his 3 wood shot from 253 yards found the front bunker. The actor splashed out to about 12 feet, sank the putt for birdie (net eagle) and won the points available on the hole to take the lead to 18. A halve on 18 (bogey, net par) between O’Hurley and Marsalis enabled O’Hurley to claim the winner-take-all purse of $300,000 for his designated charity, Golfers Against Cancer. Marsalis missed a 4-foot putt on 18 that would have given him the title. The format called for Sorenstam to spot each celebrity player strokes. She won only the 15th hole with a 4-foot birdie putt.

“This thing got really exciting coming to 17 and 18,” said O’Hurley. “My heart was in my throat out of that sand on 17. That was probably the toughest sand shot I’ve ever had.”

The 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.

As a result of the charity event, Marsalis, a multiple Grammy Award winner, earned $50,000 for Habitat for Humanity, Musicians Relief Effort. Russell played for Kurt Russell/Goldie Hawn’s Bright Light Foundation, also receiving $50,000.