Annika Sorenstam

LPGA Hall of Fame member Annika Sorenstam has claimed over 70 Tour victories throughout her storied career, including 10 major titles.  She also shot 59 At the Standard Register PING Tour event in 2001 Annika shot a 59 and remains the only LPGA player to have ever achieved that score in a single round.  Annika and her sister Charlotta finished a close second to tournament host Johnny Miller in the 2006 Champions Challenge.  The Sorenson Champions Challenge is pleased to welcome back both Annika and Charlotta in 2008!

Jack Nicklaus

Perhaps the greatest to ever play the game, Jack Nicklaus began his brilliant golf career at age 10, when he shot a 51 on his first 9-hole round of golf. While at Ohio State University, where his handicap was significantly lower, Nicklaus won an NCAA Championship (1961) and two U.S. Amateur titles (1959, 1961). Nicklaus’ seemingly endless stream of accolades began after turning professional in 1962. The “Golden Bear” finished his illustrious career with 73 PGA Tour wins, second only to Sam Snead, and a record 18 Majors titles: 3 (British) Open Championships, 4 U.S. Opens, 5 PGA Championships, and 6 Masters. After birdying his last hole on St. Andrews’ Old Course in July 2005, Nicklaus officially retired from the game of golf, although he still finds time to squeeze in a few rounds each year at the Sorenson Champions Challenge. These days Nicklaus oversees one of the most renowned golf-course design practices in the world, Nicklaus Design, and still manages his own PGA Tour event, the prestigious Memorial Golf Tournament.

Johnny Miller

Winning the 1964 U.S. Junior Amateur jump-started his impressive career, which began professionally in 1969. Miller’s 25 PGA Tour wins put him in the top 25 of all time. His career wins also include two Majors in the 1973 U.S. Open and 1976 (British) Open Championship. In his U.S. Open victory at Oakmont Country Club, Miller erupted in the final round to shoot 63, the lowest ever in a U.S. Open and one of the greatest rounds of golf ever played. In 1974, Miller topped the Tour money list and attained PGA Tour Player of the Year status. He was officially inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1996. Upon retirement from professional play, Miller transitioned from the tee box to the media booth. As a broadcaster for NBC Sports, he has become known for his candid commentary, and is regarded by many in the business as one of the few personalities who can attract viewers to a broadcast.

Mike Reid

Has won the 2005 Senior PGA Championship in addition to winning twice on the PGA Tour including the NEC World Series of Golf.

Craig Stadler

Major victories include the 1982 Masters and the 2003 Senior’s Players Championship. Stadler captured the 1999 Champions Challenge with his son and PGA Tour professional, Kevin Stadler.

Hale Irwin

Major wins include (3) U.S. Opens, (2) U.S. Senior Opens and (4) Senior PGA Championship titles. Irwin has won 45 times on the Champions Tour and 20 times on the PGA Tour.

Dean Wilson

Two-time Champions Challenge winner with Mike Weir, Wilson plays this year with first-time participant Charley Hoffman. Wilson captured is first PGA Tour win in 1996 at the INTERNATIONAL.

Ian Baker-Finch

Has 16 career world-wide wins including the PGA Tour’s 1989 Southwestern Bell Colonial and the 1991 British Open Championship. Affectionately known on CBS golf broadcasts as “Finchy.” Baker-Finch has served as the Captain’s Assistant to Gary Player for the International Team at The Presidents Cup in 2003 and 2005.

Jack Nicklaus II

Is a leading force in the Nicklaus Golf Design company and a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. In 2003 Jack II was named General Chairman of the Memorial Tournament and Chairman of its host venue Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. Many of Jack’s golf courses have been nationally ranked and host professional tour tournaments.

Dave Stockton

Has (2) PGA Championship, (2) Senior Players Championship and the 1996 U.S. Senior Open titles among his 24 career victories. Stockton also won (2) FranklinQuest Championships in Park City, Utah. Stockton and his son Dave Jr. won the 2000 Champions Challenge.

Billy Casper

Has 51 career PGA Tour victories including three major titles; 1970 Masters, 1959 and 1966 U.S. Opens. Casper with his son, Real Golf Radio host, Bob Casper, won the inaugural Champions Challenge in 1998.

Jason Zuback

Won a record five RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship titles from 1996- 2006. Zuback and former RE/MAX Senior World Long Drive Champion Bobby Wilson, won the 2005 Champions Challenge.

Bobby Wilson

Holds a record 11 RE/MAX Long Drive tour titles and sank the winning put in the 2005 Champions Challenge. Wilson has been a world champion topranked long driver for over a quarter century.

Charley Hoffman

Making his first appearance in the Champions Challenge, Hoffman is the winner of the PGA Tour’s 2007 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. He also won the 2004 Permian Basin Charity Classic on the Nationwide Tour.