“BIG SHOTS TITANS AT THE TEE”
LONG DRIVE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Mark Wahlberg, Lawrence Taylor Join Other Celebrities, Long Drive Superstars to Compete In The Home Run Derby of Golf; Event To Air On FOX Sports
For Immediate Release
Thursday, May 21, 2009
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA – HorsePower Sports Marketing ushers in a new era in long drive competition with the announcement of BIG SHOTS TITANS AT THE TEE, a team-based long drive tournament that will air this fall on FOX. The competition tees off on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 from the award-winning Lake of Isles golf course at Foxwoods Casino Resort in Ledyard, CT.
BIG SHOTS TITANS AT THE TEE pairs the best long drivers in America with celebrities and sports legends such as NFL greats Lawrence Taylor, Marcus Allen, Eric Dickerson, Jim McMahon and Joe Theismann, Oscar-nominated actor Mark Wahlberg, MLB Hall of Famers Jim Rice and Goose Gossage and Olympic champion and reality TV show star Bruce Jenner in a challenge that tests power, skill and accuracy. Unlike other long drive competitions where golfers just have to drive the ball as far as possible into an open field, the BIG SHOTS TITANS AT THE TEE tournament will be played over the beautiful first hole at Lake of Isles, forcing each golfer to maneuver trees, bunkers and other course obstacles in order to land the ball on the fairway. Chalked off in five-yard increments ranging from 200-400 yards from the tee box, with a grid similar to that of a football field, the fairway is 60 yards at its widest point, but narrows to as small as 30 yards, forcing the drivers to be precise. The golf ball has to land in the field of play for the distance to be accepted.
“This is the home run derby of long driving,” said HorsePower Sports Marketing President and CEO John Mamoudis. “Golfers always remember their longest drives. Ask a golfer when he shot par, and he'll have no idea. But ask him when he hit it more than 350 yards and he'll tell you the date, time, course and hole. It's the fish story; It's the shot every golfer brags about.”
The tournament format will team each professional long driver with a celebrity. The long drivers are competing for a share of the prize pool; the celebrities are playing for charity. A pro-am kicks off the event on Monday, June 22, 2009.
The 2009 BIG SHOTS TITANS AT THE TEE competitors:
Celebrities (scheduled to appear)
Mark Wahlberg: Academy-award nominated actor.
Marcus Allen: NFL Hall of Fame running back.
Eric Dickerson: Six-time Pro Bowler and 1983 Rookie of the Year.
Jim Rice: Boston Red Sox legend, 2009 Hall of Fame inductee.
Lawrence Taylor: Two-time Super Bowl Champion, 10-time Pro Bowler, 1986 NFL MVP.
Joe Theismann: Redskins legendary QB, Super Bowl champion.
Bruce Jenner: Olympic champion and reality show star.
Rich “Goose” Gossage: MLB Hall of Fame closer, World Series champion.
Jim McMahon: Chicago Bears star, Super Bowl Champion QB
Long Drivers:
Pat Dempsey: 2002 World RE/MAX Long Drive Champion, Senior Division.
Sean "The Beast" Fister: Three-time World Long Drive Champion, American record holder in World Finals (406 yards), member of Long Drivers of America Hall of Fame.
Scott Ionno: Winner of the 2008 HorsePower Tee Shot Tour inaugural event in May 2008, finished 2nd in 2008 HorsePower Tee Shot Tour.
Danny Luirette: Overall Champion on the 2008 Horse Power Tee Shot Tour; has finished in the top-3 in the last four World RE/MAX Long Drive Championships.
J.D. Murkerson: Winner of the 2007 U.S. Long Drive Championship.
Brooks Baldwin: 2008 European Long Drive Champion, 2005 Alpha Long Drive Classic Champion.
Allen McDougall: 2008 Long Drivers of America Tour Money Champion; Finalist, World RE/MAX Long Drive Championship, 2005 – 2008.
Jason Witczak: Finalist, World RE/MAX Long Drive Championship, 2006, 2007
Hosted by Chris Rose, BIG SHOTS TITANS AT THE TEE airs on Sunday, September 20 and Sunday, September 27 on FOX, immediately following NFL on FOX coverage in most regions. (Check local listings)
“This is the All-Star game for Long Drive golf,” said George Greenberg, FOX Sports Executive Vice President of Programming and Production. “It’s a television event that golfers and fans of the long ball will love. The distances these guys hit the ball are jaw dropping.”
About HorsePower Sports Marketing
HorsePower Sports Marketing (HSM) and the HorsePower Tee Shot Tour were founded by John Mamoudis. A successful entrepreneur and businessman, Mamoudis is the President and CEO of JTM Development Corporation, one of the largest residential development companies in Virginia. He formed HSM with the goal of developing an avenue to showcase the athleticism of the best power golfers in the world and thrust the sport to the forefront of the golf scene.
A self-admitted golf addict, Mamoudis has played hundreds of rounds on the links over the last decade, during which he was also a competitive long driver. He qualified for the finals of the Re/Max World Long Drive Championships in both 2004 and 2005 and finished fourth – behind three world champions – in the 2005 ALPHA Classic Long Drive Tournament.
More information, photos, video clips and updated schedules can be found at www.HPTeeShotTour.com
HorsePower Sports Marketing: Lisa Lucas, llucas@horsepowersm.com
www.twitter.com/titansatthetee
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