Couples, Daly & Ames Join Funk at LG Skins Game

A fun-loving guy with a serious golf game, Fred Funk was in vintage form in his LG Skins Game debut last year. After pulling in the laughs from his fellow competitors and the crowd during play at Trilogy Golf Club, he wowed the gallery in taking the last 15 skins and $925,000 from the No. 1 male and female players in the world – Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam. Clearly, Funk will not challenge the newest trio of competitors at the 2006 LG SKINS GAME in a long-driving contest, but the onus is on Fred Couples, John Daly and Stephen Ames to end Funk's reign.

Fan favorites Couples and Daly, along with 2006 The Players Championship winner Ames, will compete with Funk at the 2006 LG Skins Game November 25-26 at the Trilogy Golf Club in La Quinta, Calif. The quartet will compete for $1 million in prize money in the "skins game" format. As is customary, Funk, Couples, Daly and Ames will donate 20 percent of their winnings ($200,000) to their favorite charities.

Along with announcing the field for the 2006 LG Skins Game, LG Electronics is launching a comprehensive new website (www.LGSkinsGame.com) as the official Internet home of the LG Skins Game. Once completed, the site will feature facts, figures and full-on information about the event.     

In its 24th year, the LG Skins Game has established itself as a Thanksgiving weekend staple for sports enthusiasts. ABC Sports will televise the $1 million event, a joint venture of ESPN Regional Television, Inc., and IMG Media. Annually, it is one of the highest rated golf telecasts. It will be televised on Saturday, November 25 and Sunday, November 26 from 3:30-6 p.m. (ET).

LG Electronics Inc. announced a three-year agreement to become the title sponsor of the Skins Game in May. The LG Skins Game returns to Trilogy Golf Club in La Quinta for the fourth year.

Funk's 2005 victory was the second-largest payday of his career as the LG Skins Game annually provides for one of the richest two-day payoffs in golf. Funk set a LG Skins Game record for most skins and money won when the event hasn't used the validation format; Greg Norman won all 18 skins and the entire $1 million purse in 2001 when validation rules applied to the event.

The oldest player to become champion of the LG Skins Game, Funk made $225,000 on the first day in the 2005 event with a 28-foot eagle putt on No. 9. He then highlighted his title with a $550,000 birdie on No. 18, bringing his second-day total earnings to $700,000.

In the LG Skins Game format, players compete for money for each hole rather than low score for the round. A player must win a hole outright to win a skin. If a hole is tied, the skin(s) and money carries over to the next hole. Each of the first six holes (one through six) will be worth $25,000. Each of the second six holes (seven through 12) will be worth $50,000. Holes 13 through 17 will each be worth $70,000, and the 18th hole, the LG Super Skin, will be worth $200,000. The foursome will play for $300,000 on Saturday and $700,000 on Sunday.

Trilogy Golf Club is located at the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains in La Quinta. It is the centerpiece of Trilogy at La Quinta, a community built by Shea Homes Inc. The course, designed by architect Gary Panks, lends itself to the natural terrain and sweeping views overlooking the Coachella Valley. The par-72 course opened to public play in February 2003.

Players

Fred Funk, 50, known as one of the most popular players on Tour for his fun-loving, accessible personality, is the oldest winner in the history of the LG Skins Game after his 2005 debut featured Funk taking away the last 15 skins and $925,000. Those rank as the second highest totals in a single LG Skins Game. He won an event-record $225,000 on Saturday and all $700,000 available on Sunday, including $550,000 on the 18th hole, to rank fourth on the event’s all-time money list. Funk made Tour history in March 2005 when he became the oldest winner of The Players Championship, collecting his seventh title on tour and a five-year exemption that will keep Funk on Tour until he’s 54. In 2006, Funk was runner-up at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and ranks 43rd on the PGA Tour money list ($1,404,472). Funk turned 50 on June 14 and has debuted on the Champions Tour - he placed 11th at the U.S. Senior Open and the Ford Senior Players Championship.

Fred Couples, 46, is the most prolific player in LG Skins Game history entering his 13th year in the event, a feat unmatched by anyone. With his victory in 2004, Couples earned his fifth title and second consecutive championship. Couples holds the records for Most Career Skins Won (77), Most Career Skins Money ($3,515,000) and most birdies in one year (nine in 1999). Besides his 15 PGA Tour titles, Couples, the 1992 Masters champion, owns 34 victories worldwide. In 2006, Couples finished in a tie for third at the Masters, fourth at the Nissan Open and has earned $780,361 on the PGA Tour, good for 88th on the money list. Couples is a veteran of five Ryder Cups, four President Cups, four Dunhill Cups and four World Cups.

John Daly, 40, is the long-hitting fan favorite and a two-time participant in the LG Skins Game - he finished with seven skins and $160,000 in his 1991 debut and recorded no skins in 1996. He has five PGA Tour titles to his credit, including the 1991 PGA Championship and the 1995 British Open. Daly, the 1991 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, last won at the 2004 Buick Invitational though he recorded runner-up results in 2005 at the WGC-American Express Championship and the Shell Houston Open, losing playoffs to Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh, respectively. Daly ranks sixth in driving distance on TOUR this year with an average of 306 yards/drive; his longest drive measured 397 yards.

Stephen Ames, 42, the first touring professional to come out of Trinidad and Tobago, will make his LG Skins Game debut this year after winning The Players Championship in convincing fashion, winning by six shots. His other PGA Tour title came at the 2004 Cialis Western Open. Ames has already matched his three top-10 finishes from last year in 2006 with his victory, a fourth-place finish at the Bank of America Colonial and a seventh at The Honda Classic. He ranks 14th on the PGA Tour money list ($2,395,155). He almost recorded a fourth top-10 in 2006 by finishing tied for 11th in his second Masters Tournament. A resident of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Ames is not a stranger to the skins format, having won the Canadian Skins Game in 2005.

Tickets & Further Information

Tickets for the LG Skins Game, as well as corporate entertainment packages and hospitality tents, are available by calling the tournament office at (760) 771-0707 or (866) SKINTIX (754-6849). Tickets also are available on the Trilogy website at www.trilogylife.com.