People vs. the Pros Returns to Pinehurst in 2006

People vs. the Pros Returns to Pinehurst in 2006

Amateur Golfers to Compete Head-To-Head Against Retief Goosen and Gary McCord

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif., June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- People vs. the Pros, the riveting drama of amateurs competing head-to-head against professionals from the PGA Tour and Champions Tour in a unique television golf event on ESPN, will return for the fourth year and will be hosted by Pinehurst from August 18-22, 2006, according to Andy Batkin, CEO of Innovative Media Solutions (IMS). People vs. the Pros is a production of Manhattan Beach, Calif.-based IMS and Winnercomm, Inc., America's largest independent sports production company.

A total of 200 amateur golfers divided equally in two age categories, 18-49 and 50 & over, will travel to Pinehurst to play a three-day, 54-hole handicapped stroke-play Finals competition on Aug. 19-21, 2006. Two winners -- one in each age group -- will advance to the Grand Prize Match, an 18-hole match play round played on Aug. 22 on Pinehurst No. 8. Total purse is $100,000; $50,000 goes to each winner's charity of choice. All proceeds are being donated to the respective winners' designated charity.

The event is open to U.S. and Canadian amateur golfers over 18 years of age with an established handicap; players can reserve a slot on the event's web site, http://www.pvpgolf.com/ .

The 49 & under age division winner will face two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, who has six PGA Tour titles and 19 European Tour titles. He finished 2005 ranked #4 in the Official World Golf Ranking, with wins on both the PGA Tour and the European Tour.

"I am looking forward to playing at Pinehurst and enjoy the challenge of match play competition," said Goosen. "As we've seen in years past in the People vs. the Pros competitions, anyone can win with this format ... but I plan on making sure that my charity receives the winning prize."

The 50 & over age division winner will play Gary McCord, who joined the Champions Tour in 1999 after 23 years on the PGA Tour and won two Champions Tour titles in his first year. McCord is well known as a golf analyst for CBS and author of the "Golf for Dummies" instructional series of manuals and DVDs.

In the 2004 People vs. the Pros event at Pinehurst, Phil Johnson of McKinney, Texas, defeated McCord in a sudden death playoff.

"The demeaning loss that I experienced in 2004 while playing Pinehurst has lived with me for too long," said McCord. "I plan to strike with lightning force and impale my competitor with verbal assaults that will render him a drooling balatron."

Details on the 2006 BASF People vs. the Pros at Pinehurst are on the event's web site: http://www.pvpgolf.com/ .

Source: People vs. the Pros

CONTACT: Lynda Haschke of People vs. the Pros, +1-972-740-3529, or
LHaschke@pvpgolf.com

Web site: http://www.pvpgolf.com/

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