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June 24, 2005Par 3 Shootout tees off in Gaylord MondayMcCord, North join event vets Couples, MickelsonPar-3 Shootout What: ING Par-3 Shootout When: Monday and Tuesday, 1 p.m. Where: Treetops Resort, Gaylord Competitors: Fred Couples (defending champ), Phil Mickelson, Gary McCord, Andy North Purse: $540,000 total, plus $1 million for each hole-in-one Tickets: Call (989) 732-6711, ext. 2499 or visit treetops.com/ TV: 10 p.m. to midnight on ESPN each day McCord said practice rounds are in order if he wants to compete with Phil Mickelson, Fred Couples and Andy North. Couples is the defending champion and only two-time winner in Gaylord. Mickelson is the only player to compete in the previous six Shootouts and he's approaching $1 million in earnings here. North, like McCord, is a Shootout rookie. "It will be good to see the boys again," McCord said. "Obviously, they have found their way around that golf course, so I have got to find out some way, sometime to play a couple of days of practice rounds because I do not want to get embarrassed by the boys." The $540,000 event, which also offers a $1 million bonus for every hole-in-one, will air tape-delayed on ESPN2 on Monday and Tuesday from 10 p.m. to midnight. The Shootout is ESPN2's first golf telecast produced in HD-TV. The Shootout will be played on the unique par-three Threetops course. Although the distances range from only 138 to 216 yards, Threetops can be challenging because of the dramatic elevation changes, the tricky winds that change on every hole and contoured greens that are extremely fast. "I love the course," Mickelson said. "But whether it was Lee Trevino making a hole-in-one, Lee Janzen playing great or me just not playing my best, I've not been able to win this event. "It's something I'll be gunning for." Counting last year's $130,000 effort that earned him a second-place tie with Trevino, Mickelson has five runner-up finishes in his six Shootouts. Considering he averages $151,667 in his trips to Treetops, Mickelson is a near-lock to join Trevino as the only two players to surpass $1 million in event earnings. Mickelson is the event's second all-time leading money winner with $910,000, trailing only Trevino's $1,390,000. "I look forward to it every year because it's such a fun, relaxed atmosphere in which to compete against three other top-flight professionals," said Mickelson, who often has his brother, Tim, on the bag. McCord, who has competed in other made-for-TV events, agreed. "This is the time to have some fun with it, get the personalities out and get these guys going," he said. "That is basically what I do at these deals. Obviously, I know Fred. I know all these guys very well. Phil and I played a lot of golf together at home. So we're going to be jabbing each other and I'm going to try to be the one jabbing. They know they can beat me. The only chance I have is to get them flustered with my incessant banter and that is going to be my 15th club." Mickelson holds event records for most holes won (11), most holes validated (seven), most holes won without validating (seven), most holes won without validating for a single event (two), most holes validated in a single event (two), most closest-to-the-pin shots (33), most birdies all-time (23) and most money lost failing to validate ($460,000). He holds a share of two other marks - most holes won in a single event (four, with Couples), and most birdies in a single event (six, with Fuzzy Zoeller and Couples), a mark Mickelson tied last year. Last year, Mickelson drained a 6-foot, 10-inch birdie putt on the seventh hole for a shot at $140,000, but failed to validate when he airmailed the eighth hole with his 9-iron and failed to get up-and-down for par. He made up for that the next day, when he racked up back-to-back birdies on No. 14 and 15 to win $60,000. Those were two of Mickelson's event-best six birdies at last year's Par-3 Shootout.
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