INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Defending champion Stephen Ames and
Masters winner Zach Johnson will play in the 25th Skins Game on
Thanksgiving weekend.
Organizers said Tuesday that Ames and Johnson will be joined on
the Celebrity Course at Indian Wells Golf Resort by Fred Couples,
the most successful golfer in Skins Game history, and Brett
Wetterich.
Ames won his Skins Game debut last year with a 3-foot birdie
putt on the third playoff hole. He won eight skins and $590,000 --
all on the second day of the two-day event -- to beat Couples, John
Daly and 2005 champion Fred Funk.
Couples, entering his 14th year in the Skins Game, earned
$385,000 in last year's competition. With his victory in the 2004
event, Couples earned his fifth title and second consecutive
championship. He holds the records for most career skins won with
86 and most money earned with $3.18 million.
The event, sponsored by LGA Electronics, offers a purse of $1
million.
The first Skins Game was played in 1983 at the Desert Highlands
in Scottsdale, Ariz. It was played the past four years at Trilogy
Golf Club in La Quinta, Calif. Among those who have competed are
Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino,
Gary Player, Phil Mickelson and Annika Sorenstam, the only female
player.