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NAPLES, Fla. - An impressive field of individuals will meet as partners in Naples this week for the 20th annual Shark Shootout. Here are some interesting news and notes regarding this special group who will compete at Tiburón Golf Club for the eighth straight year.
First-Time Shootout Participants: Four Shootout competitors will play in the Shootout for the first time: Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter, Steve Stricker, Boo Weekley.
 Twelve players in the field are ranked among the top 70 in the Official World Golf Rankings, lead by Camilo Villegas at No. 7. |
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2008 Ryder Cup: Victorious U.S. Captain Paul Azinger will be joined by five of his team members at this week's Shootout: Stewart Cink, J.B. Holmes, Kenny Perry, Steve Stricker, Boo Weekley. The European team is also represented by Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter who combined for a 6-2-1 record at Valhalla. So, that is a total of nine individuals who participated in this year's Ryder Cup.
2008 Champions: Six players in the field recorded a total of nine victories during the 2008 season--J.B. Holmes, Boo Weekley, three-time winner Kenny Perry, Stewart Cink, two-time winner Camilo Villegas and Zach Johnson.
Hall of Fame: Nine members of the World Golf Hall of Fame competed in the inaugural Shark Shootout in 1989--Raymond Floyd, Hale Irwin, Tom Kite, Bernhard Langer, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Arnold Palmer, Curtis Strange and Lee Trevino.
Multiple winners: There were a total of seven multiple winners on the PGA TOUR schedule in 2008. Tiger Woods led the pack with four victories. Kenny Perry along with Vijay Singh was next with three wins. Perry, who will be playing in his fifth straight Shootout won three times during a seven week stretch. Partner of host Greg Norman, Camilo Villegas won twice. He won back-to-back FedEx Cup playoff titles to end his regular season schedule.
Giving Back: Greg Norman, host of The Shark Shootout, is one of many in the field who offers assistance to charitable causes. This week is all about continuing the fight against childhood cancer through CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation. Other competitors have specific charities they work with year-round. Kenny Perry: Donates 5 percent of his winnings to Lipscomb University to provide scholarships. Fred Couples: Hosts event in Seattle to raise money for the Millie Medlin Violet Sobich Couples Fund he started in his mother's honor. Brad Faxon: Billy Andrade-Brad Faxon Charities for Children. Fred Funk: Heavily involved in local sports and recreation fundraising in hometown. Scott Hoch: Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital in Orlando. Mark O'Meara: Constantly raising awareness and funds for Multiple Sclerosis in honor former caddie Donnie Wanstall. Jeff Sluman: Teamed with Office Max to create "Drive for Hope" to raise money for City of Hope and other charities.
World Golf Rankings: Twelve players in the field are ranked among the top 70 in the Official World Golf Rankings--Camilo Villegas leads that group ranked 7th in the world on the strength of his victories at the BMW Championship and TOUR Championship victories.
Funk's Great Stats Year: Fred Funk had an impressive year on the Champions Tour. Finishing second in the year-long points race to Jay Haas was just one of them. He was also third on the money list, third in Driving Accuracy and third in Greens hit in Regulation.
Scramblers: Jeff Sluman has always been known as one of the top players around the greens. This year, on the Champions Tour, he led all players in the Scrambling category getting the ball up and down from around the green over 68 percent of the time.
Top-10 Talent: On the PGA TOUR this year, Stewart Cink, Kenny Perry and Camilo Villegas were tied for eighth among the players who recorded top-10 finishes. The threesome had seven during the year. Nick Price had 12 top-10 finishes in 18 starts on the Champions Tour.
Gators, 'Noles, Mocs and 'Canes: The field is full of players from Florida colleges and universities: Florida Gators (Mark Calcavecchia, Chris DiMarco, Camilo Villegas), Florida State (Paul Azinger, Jeff Sluman), Florida Southern (Rocco Mediate), Miami (Woody Austin).
Driving Distance: J.B. Holmes is certainly the longest driver in the field this week. Holmes was ranked third on the PGA TOUR with an average drive of 310.3 yards. His longest during the season was a whopping 391 yards.
U.S. Amateur Champion: One player in the field holds the honor of being a former U.S. Amateur Champion--Scott Verplank.
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