Dynamic Duo Sorenstam, Pressel vs. PGA Tour Stars in 20th ADT Skills Challenge Presented by Tyco

Another ADT Skills 1st  - women vs. Price/O'Meara, Faldo/Mediate, Kelly/Z. Johnson

NEW YORK, Oct. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Legendary LPGA performer Annika Sorenstam and current tour standout Morgan Pressel will break new ground in professional golf's battle of the sexes November 7 when they team up to compete against the men in the 2011 ADT Skills Challenge at The Breakers in Palm Beach, FL.

It will be Sorenstam's first professional competition since the LPGA's 2008 season-ending ADT Championship, a span of almost three years.

This year's ADT Skills Challenge is the landmark 20th annual and will mark the first time that women will form a tandem to battle male counterparts in pursuit of gender pride and $800,000 in prize money.  Sorenstam (and Paula Creamer) have competed individually in past ADT Skills Challenges and Sorenstam famously teed it up against the men in the PGA Tour's Colonial Open in 2003. The men's teams are defending champions Nick Price and Mark O'Meara plus Nick Faldo/Rocco Mediate and Jerry Kelly/Zach Johnson.  

The PGA Tour-sanctioned competition is one of the longest-running post-Fed Ex Cup events in golf and the only one that remains on broadcast network TV.  NBC Sports will televise the event on Saturday, December 24, and Sunday, December 25, from 4-6 p.m. ET as the only golf on network television that holiday weekend, the final full weekend of the year.

"It's the caliber of talent, the unpredictable nature of the event, and the unprecedented access to the players' conversations and banter that has ensured the longevity of this spectacular competition," said John Kenning , President ADT North America Commercial.   "ADT has built a tremendous partnership with NBC Sports over the past decade as the title sponsor of this event.   We have enjoyed the relationship and are pleased to host the event in South Florida where ADT, a Tyco International company, is headquartered."

"One of ADT's missions is to give back to the communities where it does business, so this year in honor of the 20th anniversary of ADT Skills, ADT is contributing $20,000 each to two charities in Palm Beach County," said John Koch, President of ADT North America Residential and Small Business. "The YMCA of Boca Raton will use its funds to help reduce the rate of childhood drowning in Palm Beach County and the YWCA of Palm Beach has targeted its contribution toward children and youth programs."

The six mainstay skills – Long Drive, Mid-Iron, Bunker Shot, Chip Shot, Trouble Shot and Short Iron -- will be followed by the "Reverse Scramble," representing the seventh and eighth skills.  

Sorenstam, the native Swede whose achievements rank her as one of the most successful golfers in history, has won a record 90 international tournaments.  

Pressel, currently ranked 13th on the LPGA Tour Money list, has six top 10 finishes this year, her sixth on tour.  She has two tour victories, the 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship and the 2008 Kapalua LPGA Classic.  

ADT North America Residential / Small Business and ADT Commercial, both units of Tyco International, are the world's largest electronic security providers. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla., ADT employs more than 26,000 people at over 350 locations in the U.S. and Canada. With eight fully redundant monitoring centers, functioning 24/7, ADT acts on more than 90,000 alarm signals each day, providing peace of mind protection to 6.8 million customers. Additional information at www.adt.com.

SOURCE ADT Skills Challenge