| Fans Also Big Winners At Maui Skins Game |
 Even Though He Was Only A Week Away From His 70th Birthday, The Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus, Showed He Still Has The Touch Around Greens And On The Fairways As He And Partner Tom Watson Teamed Up To Win This Year's Event - Photo Credit Ed Kageyama If you’re thinking about going to Maui, Hawaii for a vacation built around playing golf, you may want to plan a day or two, or more, to watch some golf while you’re there. The island hosts not only the SBS Championship during the first week of the New Year, but a second PGA-based event as well, a week later, that’s well worth taking in. That second event is the Wendy’s Champions Skins Game, an 18-hole, two-day shoot-out between golf legends that is beginning to draw a lot of attention due to its easy access, the ability for fans to walk alongside, and interact with some of their idols, and the fact it’s free. Following is the second article by IG writer Gord Montgomery on building a holiday around the two tournaments and how the Wendy’s event, in particular, is so fan-friendly. When you latch onto a good thing you don’t want to let it go and that’s the thought at the Ka’anapali Golf Resort’s Royal Course about the Wendy’s Champions Skins Game. Shelley Kekuna, the executive director of the Ka’anapali Beach Resort, said her company’s three-year tie-in with the over-50 crew of golfers they bring in – which this year included fan favourtites Fred Couples, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Fuzzy Zoeller, Nick Price and Ben Crenshaw is a deal they certainly want to continue. “We don’t want to lose this,” she said of their initial agreement in hosting the tourist- and resident-friendly event having recently drawn to a close. “We don’t want it to go away. We think it’s a really fantastic event.” Kekuna said the 18-hole, two-day competition came to Ka’anapali from the group of Wailea courses, which are just down the island, and during its stay at its present location it has done nothing but grow in popularity.  Two Of The Most Popular Players At The Wendy's Champions Skins Game Event Were Nick Price And Fred Couples, Shown Here Lining Up A Putt On The Tricky Greens At The Royal Ka'anapali Course - Photo Credit Gord Montgomery “ESPN approached one of our board members and he brought it to us. We assessed it and figured out how we could do it,” and the result of that effort has been a bright spot on the golf calendar in Maui ever since. Ka’anapali puts on the show in a manner befitting the legends of the golf world, who come to this paradise to take part in the $770,000 (US) team event, and the hundreds of fans who flock to the course to watch, free of charge. “It has definitely grown. We had the largest gallery so far this year. It’s been great the way it has grown,” Kekuna noted. As for not charging admission to the general public for the tournament that has nine holes each on a Saturday and Sunday, the executive director noted that is by design and due largely to the design of the course, which is an easy walk. “The course is very accessible. Anyone can pretty much walk across the street and take a look. The courses in the past haven’t been as accessible as ours and that’s what makes it such a great opportunity for fans here. “And there’s not only that, but the pros are very accessible. They’re so tremendous with the fans. They’re very appreciative. We had a huge line of people wanting autographs. I mean, you’d think it was the Masters the way they were lined up behind the ropes.” While the money for the players is big, when they win a skin, there is a charitable end to the event. Since no admission is collected it doesn’t come from the fans. Rather, the donations come from the players while Ka’anapali provides a dividend of a different sort for the spectators. “On Saturday, after they’ve played, we hold a complimentary junior golf clinic,” tutored by the pros. “That’s like our contribution to junior golf. We do that for the community and then we pay our volunteers (for their efforts during the event),” Kekuna noted. 
Ka'anapali Beach Resort Executive Director Shellely Kekuna (2nd From
Right) Is One Of Maui's Greatest Assets When It Comes To Hosting
Visitors To The Island
As for that so-called “junior clinic golf clinic,” it’s more than the kids that pick up a few pointers from the players on hand. “Gosh, we had kids but also a lot of adults watching. We probably had about 60 chairs set up and those were all filled, some with kids but also with adults,” said Kekuna. There is, of course, money going out to those in need for a variety of different reasons, but there's one main beneficiary overall. “As for the format itself, that sees a percentage of the winnings going to The Dave Thomas (the founder of the Wendy’s chain) Foundation For Adoption,” Kekuna explained. “The players also give funds to their own charity of choice as well. There is a lot of charitable stuff going on in the tournament itself.” As for building the interest in the event and having people return, Kekuna said this event has become so popular people now set up their vacation plans around when it takes place so they are included in the growing galleries. “They love it. They absolutely love it. We found from the first year that we had people inquiring when it’s going to happen so they could plan their vacation around it because it’s such a cool event for them to include in the time they’re going to be in Maui. That way, they can make this a part of their trip.” And this is a trip well worth making as a golfer or golf fan because who knows, something you see, or hear from either event may just click in and make your game suddenly much better than it was. The good news though is that even if that doesn’t happen, you’ve still had a great vacation in a great part of the world, watching some of the world’s greatest golfers do their thing. The tape-delayed Wendy’s Champions Skins Game, which was won by the team of Nicklaus and Watson who pocketed $350,000 between them, will air on Feb. 27 and 28 on ESPN in the U.S. No firm date is known for a Canadian broadcast, but chances are it will air on TSN at the same time. About the writer: Gord Montgomery is the sports editor of two weekly newspapers in the Edmonton area and has written for Inside Golf for the past three years. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  Click Here To Receive iG's Top Rated E-Newsletter And Qualify To Win Great Prizes. Shouldn't You Be Inside Golf ? |
