Print this page  |  Close Window

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Del Webb Father/Son Challenge fans might have a tough time remembering past champions of the event not named Langer. But Jack Nicklaus, Hale Irwin, Craig Stadler and Larry Nelson look to jog their memories this year.

The four past Del Webb Father/Son Challenge champions join the field of this year's event, held again at the International Course at ChampionsGate Golf Resort in Orlando, Nov. 29.-Dec. 2.

Hale Irwin (standing) and son Steve Irwin have played every year since the tournament began. (Badz/PGA TOUR)

Nelson, winner of the 1981 and '87 PGA Championships and 1983 U.S. Open, was the last to win the Del Webb Father/Son Challenge before the Langers took firm grasp of the Willie Park Trophy. However, the duo of Larry and son Josh, the Nelson representation this year, has never hoisted it. Since 1999, Nelson has alternated playing partners between sons Drew, a professional with whom he won the event by three shots in 2004, and Josh, whose best finish with his dad was third the year before.

That year, Larry and Josh finished two shots back of champions Hale (1974, '79 and '90 U.S. Open) and Steve Irwin. Del Webb Father/Son Challenge veterans, Team Irwin is the only duo to have played every year since the inception of the popular event. Entering their 13th appearance, they bring an arsenal of not only unmatched experience, but also one win, three runner-ups, two thirds and eight total top-five finishes. Last year, they rebounded from a first-round 65 with a second-round 59 to finish fifth.

Team Irwin's lone win in 2003 came over a guy who knows a thing or two about winning golf tournaments -- he won 73 on the PGA TOUR, including 18 major championships, and 10 on the Champions Tour. However, that year, Jack and Jackie Nicklaus' pair of 62s just wasn't enough to contend with Team Irwin.

But this year, Jack will team with son Gary in an attempt to win the duo's second Del Webb Father/Son Challenge -- they shot a record-tying 60-59 119 to win the 1999 event in a playoff over Raymond and Robert Floyd. That year, Team Nicklaus and Team Floyd finished the 36 holes five shots clear of all challengers.

Last year, Jackie and his dad, who admitted in his pre-tournament press conference to be working on his tennis game much more than his golf game, thrilled fans with a typical Golden Bear back-nine charge, birdieing eight straight holes after making the turn at 2-under. That charge brought them to 10-under through 18 holes and left them three shots back of first-round leaders, Davis and Dru Love.

"The last nine holes, we figured out how to play a little golf," Jack Nicklaus said after the round. "Now, if we could just figure out how to play the front nine."

If not the "Golden Bear," 1982 Masters champion Craig "The Walrus" Stadler and pup Chris might grasp the Willie Park Trophy in 2007. However, like the Nelsons, Stadler's win came with another son, PGA TOUR player Kevin, in 2002. Since Kevin played his way onto the Tour and made himself ineligible, Craig and Chris have two 16th-place finishes and a tie for 14th in the three years they've played.

Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.delwebbfatherson.com/index/index.php and clicking on the tickets link, or by calling the Deb Webb Father/Son Challenge tournament office at (866) 871-6337.

Tickets are now available in a variety of packages, ranging from single-day tickets for $20 and season badges for $50 to the International Course Golf and Pass Package, which provides two single-day passes to the Del Webb Father/Son Challenge, a parking pass and vouchers for two rounds of golf at the International Course ($179).

The Willie Park trophy (Badz/PGA TOUR)

Besides the lucrative $1.085 million purse, the teams also play to win the prestigious Willie Park Trophy, which is based upon the original championship prize of the British Open in 1860. The trophy, a red leather belt with sterling silver embellishments, similar to the belts awarded in modern times to boxing champions, was named after Park in honor of being the first winner of the British Open, the world's oldest golf championship.

Park won the British Open four times (1860, 1863, 1866 and 1875) and his son, Willie, Jr., won twice (1887 and 1889). The Willie Park Trophy was created especially for the Del Webb Father/Son Challenge in England by Garrard, the Crown Jewelers since 1843.

NBC will televise the event on Saturday, Dec. 1 from 2:30 - 4:30 p.m. ET and on Sunday, Dec. 2 from 3 -- 6 p.m. ET.

The Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children is the benefiting charity for the Del Webb Father/Son Challenge.

ChampionsGate Golf Resort is the world headquarters for the David Leadbetter Academy, one of the nation's most sophisticated learning facilities for men, women and children. ChampionsGate Golf Resort has already received honorable mention by Golf Magazine's "10 Most Distinctive Places to Play in the Country" list. The resort features an impressive clubhouse with outstanding restaurant and banquet facilities.

The Del Webb Father/Son Challenge is jointly owned by NBC Sports and IMG.