Cristie Kerr Will Play "The Ultimate Game"

by Mulligan Stu on Nov 26, 2007 4:21 PM EST in News

Remember "The Ultimate Game"? That high-stakes, buy-in tournament in Las Vegas earlier this year? It got a lot of play this year because it served as the professional debuts for the teenage Finau brothers, Gipper and Tony.

It was a $50,000 buy-in tournament, with $2 million going to the winner. The Ultimate Game had grown out of a previous Las Vegas tournament called The Big Stakes Match Play Golf Tournament, one that had a $100,000 per 2-man team buy-in.

In 2008, The Ultimate Game is returning to a 2-person team format, and it has snagged a very high-profile team: Cristie Kerr and Jim McLean will play as a team - eaching paying $22,500 (the team entry fee is $45,000 now, going up to $50K closer to tournament time) - in the March 6-11 event at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif.

The Ultimate Game this year has a 2-person, best-ball format, with 64 teams and a $2.4 million purse. While the tournament bars golfers who've had fully exempt status within the past five years on the PGA Tour, Nationwide, Champions, European, European Challenge, Japan or Asian tours, it is open to any other male golfers, plus women from any tour, including (obviously) the LPGA Tour.

Kerr, who will play from the same tees as everyone else (as will any other female entrants, should there be any) - says the chance to play with a partner she calls a mentor is what drew her to the event:

"It's not often that I get to play in such a unique format with my longtime mentor and a person who has so greatly influenced my golf game, Jim McLean. Couple that with the fact that it's a chance to play for $1 million, and I can't wait."

McLean, one of the most famous golf instructors, also has some serious playing credentials:

As a player, McLean made the cut in the Masters and qualified for four U.S. Amateurs and two U.S. Opens. He won three college events as an All-American at the University of Houston. Among his more than 50 junior and amateur titles in the Pacific Northwest - he's also a member of the Pacific Northwest Hall of Fame - are the Northwest Open, the Pacific Coast Amateur and three Pacific Northwest Amateur titles. He also won the 1987 Westchester PGA Championship, the 1989 National Skins Game Pro-Am, two Metropolitan PGA Pro-Pro titles and was runner-up at the 1993 Metropolitan PGA Championship, in addition to holding three course records at Doral.

What the state of his game is in 2007 I can't hazard a guess. I believe he's around 55 years old now.

McLean has worked with Kerr since she was 13 years old. He said about Kerr:

"She basically grew up at Doral. We played a lot of six- and nine-hole rounds of golf after work, or during the day in a break. She loved working with the Tour players I taught. When she was at Doral and I had Brad Faxon or Tom Kite at the range, she would invariably get into a contest with them on some sort of shot. All that little stuff helped her become one of the top players in the game."

The Ultimate Game will be televised in primetime on The Golf Channel in 2008. And now it has a hook.

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gotta hand it to xxx Golf Channel

They may not have a full broadcast crew worth a hill of beans, but they are getting very good at finding angles. Personally, I don't believe this was Kerr's or McLean's idea, or that either one of them is putting up the entry fee - it does sound like fun.

The only downside I see is that they don't do well in the tournament and we find out that an LPGA Tour star and a teaching pro with a lot of tournament experience in his younger days can't keep up with a bunch of amateurs and low level pros.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Nov 26, 2007 10:05 PM EST 0 recs

entries

The press release specified that Kerr and McLean paid their own entry fees. And you know, companies never lie in press releases ...

One thing to keep an eye on, with GOLF televising it, is whether any Big Breakers start showing up among the entrants. A team of Tommy Gainey and Hiroshi Matsuo would be pretty stout.

by Mulligan Stu on Nov 27, 2007 9:39 AM EST up 0 recs

Two Gloves and Hiro

Are those two eligible ? They have both been playing professional tours for several years. Both men were in PGA Tour events last year and made starts on the Nationwide Tour.

Golf Channel guy - "psst - c'mere - here's your entry money - put it in the bank and write me a check back..."

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Nov 27, 2007 10:01 AM EST up 0 recs

Pretty sure ...

both are eligible. Ineligible are any "golfers who've had fully exempt status within the past five years on the PGA Tour, Nationwide, Champions, European, European Challenge, Japan or Asian tours."

But I could be wrong. In fact, I am! About Hiroshi at least. Hiroshi had privileges on the Nationwide Tour as recently as 2006 (played 21 times). So scratch that. (I thought he was stuck in mini-tours by that point ...)

"Two Gloves" has never had status anywhere higher than the Tarheel Tour and Gateway Tour. However, another qualification criteria for the Ultimate Game is that golfers can't have "played in more than five 'Major Tour' events at any time after March 3, 2007."

After March 3 of this year, Gainey played once on the PGA Tour and four times on the Nationwide Tour. Five "major tour" appearances, but not more than five. So he should be eligible.

by Mulligan Stu on Nov 27, 2007 10:45 AM EST up 0 recs

4+1

Isn't that 5 ? I didn't see in the rules that it was 5 appearances on a single major tour, allowing him 5 PGA plus 5 Nationwide starts, but I might have read it wrong.

Hey now - don't forget - Two Gloves won the "tour championship" on the US Pro Golf Tour 2 years ago. Which then folded - then Trump bought it - then dumped it before the year was up.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Nov 27, 2007 12:26 PM EST 0 recs

4+1

The press release (haven't double-checked the Web site, maybe it says something different) said "more than five," as opposed to just "five." So I think Gainey could get in.

by Mulligan Stu on Nov 27, 2007 3:17 PM EST up 0 recs

well why not...

...it seems to go against the original spirit of the competition - but it might be more interesting to see these guys facing off instead of a bunch of club guys who make half a living from golf bets.

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on Nov 27, 2007 3:39 PM EST up 0 recs