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Southwest Florida Magazine
The PGA Tour professionals who win the $600,000 purse are not the only
winners when The Franklin Templeton Shootout comes to town. Local
businesses, golf fans, even children battling cancer benefit from this PGA
Tour event to be held Nov. 12-14 for the fourth year in a row at the
Greg-Norman-designed Tiburó n Golf Club.
With total prize money of $2.5 million up for grabs, tournaments past have
attracted the PGA Tour's top performers: Jack Nicklaus, Fred Couples, David
Love III, John Daly, Adam Scott, Greg Norman, Hank Kuehne, Jeff Sluman, and
the list goes on. During its time in Naples, the tournament's purse has
increased 25 percent.
"Through our outstanding corporate partners, most notably Merrill Lynch, we are able to continue raising our purse, thereby attracting a
world-class field," tournament founder, host and PGA Tour great Greg Norman
said. "That allows us to host a quality event and reach our goal of
providing significant funds for charity."
And Norman puts his money where his mouth is. Over the last 15 years, the
Shootout has donated millions to the CureSearch National Childhood Cancer
Foundation (NCCF), which supports treatment and research projects to cure
children with cancer. Norman and his wife, Laura, sit on the board of the
NCCF.
"Their commitment to the organization has been phenomenal," said NCCF
President and CEO Paul Burke. "Not only does the tournament raise funds,
but the broadcast on CBS makes it a great awareness vehicle for people in
South Florida and across the nation. We are extremely grateful to Merrill Lynch and the other sponsors of this prestigious tournament for their
substantial, long-term commitment to the cause of childhood cancer
research."
Two local children in particular are living proof. Eight-year-old Nicholas
Marchitto from Cape Coral and 7-year-old Ben Klassen, from Bonita Springs
are both in remission from forms of pediatric cancer. Both received
life-saving treatment from CureSearch.
Of course, fans of this popular event are also winners, as amateur golfers
have a chance to get up-close and personal with some of golf's greatest
names during the Wednesday/Thursday Pro-Am as they play alongside the
professionals. "No other sport except golf offers a format that gives
amateurs the opportunity to play side by side with the professionals," says
Tournament Director Taylor Ives. The amateur spots carry a price tag of
$15,000, and have sold out each of the last four years at Tiburó n.
The Shootout also has a reputation of being a little more "laid back" than
others. "It makes it more enjoyable to play with a partner in a very
relaxed atmosphere," says Sluman, who alongside partner Kuehne won last
year's event. "Typically, the PGA Tour really isn't that relaxing because
you're playing for yourself. This event is fun because you are playing with
friends, on a wonderful golf course. It can't get any better than that!"
Last year, fans were treated to a three-way playoff. Kuehne and Sluman took
advantage of generous scramble rules to add one last birdie in regulation.
As it turns out, that birdie earned the team a spot in the first three-way
playoff in Shootout history alongside Chad Campbell and Shaun Micheel and
Brad Faxon and Scott McCarron.
On the second extra hole, which was played using the better-ball format,
Kuehne sunk a four-foot birdie putt to clinch the title. It was the first
Shootout victory for both players. Kuehne and Sluman each pocketed
$275,000.
When asked what to expect this year, Sluman says, "Hank and I have
different types of games, and The Franklin Templeton Shootout format works
in our favor, where our differences complement each other. I feel that
since we won last year, we had a great strategy going with our differences,
so we will rely on the same strategy."
With that level of competition, the Shootout is sure to draw huge crowds
again this year. And that's good for local businesses. The Ritz-Carlton, a
295-room luxury hotel sitting on the grounds of Tiburó n Golf Club, sells
out during the tournament, as players, their families and crews bunk up for
the week.
Other area hotels, like DoubleTree, black out the entire hotel - all 101
rooms - when the Shootout comes to town. "Last year, we enjoyed eight
consecutive sell-out nights," reports Director of Sales Jim Hennessy.
"I'd say 100 percent of our business is related to the Merrill Lynch
Shootout when it's in town. Fans take about 20 percent of the rooms, and
CBS and Great White Shark Enterprises (Norman's company) set up room blocks
for the other 80 percent to house camera crews, players, and others
associated with the event. We have cultivated a mutually beneficial
relationship and we're delighted to have them," he says.
Obviously, the Shootout is quite popular in town, and as Ives puts it, "How
many events get Naples on national television?" But the Shootout has been
around much longer than the four years it has been held in Naples.
Norman founded the event in 1989. For most of those years, it was played on
the nation's West coast; however time zone restrictions finally forced
organizers to seek a new venue, since the tournament could not be broadcast
live from California. So five years ago, the event was moved to Doral Golf
Resort and Spa in Miami, at least temporarily. "It was only held at Doral
for one year, while Tiburó n was still under construction, but the intent
was always to have it in Naples," Ives said.
USA Networks handles the early round coverage and CBS airs the tournament
on the weekend. The field will consist of 12, two-man teams based on the
following criteria: defending champions, top three committing players from
the 2003 PGA Tour money list, top 10 committing players from the career
money list and nine special exemptions.
This year's event will again feature an alternate-shot format during the
first round, a better ball Saturday and a final-round scramble.
New for 2004 is the Aussie Club, a hospitality offering perfect for
companies who want to entertain during the Shootout, while letting guests
beat the heat. The Aussie Club is located between the eighth and 17th
holes, and offers refuge from the elements while boasting incredible aerial
views. There are four suites in all, each holding up to 25 guests per day
with catered food, beverage service and a closed-circuit television in each
suite.
"Guests will experience outstanding views of each PGA Tour player twice
daily, and holes 8 and 17 have proven pivotal the previous three years at
Tiburó n," Ives says.
The Aussie Club joins The Shark Club, an air-conditioned hospitality venue
available for both corporate and individual purchasers, which sold out the
past three years.
The Shootout is billed as a family event and everyone knows kids aren't
content to sit inside, so organizers plan plenty of activities to keep the
young ones busy. Last year, Norman, along with a trick shot artist, hosted
a golf clinic for children. This year's clinic is scheduled for Friday
afternoon on the driving range following play.
What happens at the clinic rivals the tournament in terms of lasting
memories. Like last year, when Burke recalls, one of the kids asked Norman,
"Can you hit it like Happy Gilmore?" (The main character in a comedy movie
in which Happy through a series of mishaps, finds he can hit the ball
hundreds of yards, straight as an arrow and winds up on tour with the
pros.)
"Greg took it all in stride and imitated the character from the movie,"
Burke says. "The kids were just roaring. He's a great person, in addition
to being a world-class athlete."
Also for kids is the Happy Hats program in which children make funny hats
that go to kids fighting cancer in the hospital, to lift their spirits. "It
is a symbol of compassion and warmth," Burke says. "The kids have a great
time, and feel good about helping other children who are suffering."
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