All-time leader in world tour championship victories plays 150 golf rounds annually
(DUBAI, United Arab Emirates) – The ICONS Cup – a first-of-its-kind, two-day, Ryder Cup-style team golf competition taking place April 22-24 at Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Earth Course – announces Kelly Slater, a record 11-time world surfing champion, has accepted Fred Couples’ invitation to play for Team USA.
One of the most-popular and skilled surfers of all-time, Slater’s 11 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour Championships include five consecutive titles from 1994-’98. He is also the youngest (age 20) and oldest (age 39) to ever capture the crown. Slater ranks first in career world tour championship victories with 54 and, in 2005, became the first surfer to earn two perfect scores.
“Fred and Team USA are stockpiling some serious firepower and clearly intent on bringing the inaugural ICONS Cup trophy back to the U.S.,” says ICONS Cup Tournament Director Adrian Flaherty. “Kelly plays upward of 150 rounds annually and finished fourth in February’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the PGA TOUR, showing he’s as comfortable performing on golf’s biggest stages as he is the Banzai Pipeline.”
Slater is the first legend from an individual sport to join Couples’ Team USA. He joins fellow superstars and avid golfers from Major League Baseball (Ken Griffey Jr., Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux), the National Basketball Association (Ray Allen) and the National Hockey League (Brett Hull and Mike Modano).
Additional Team USA players will be announced in the coming days.
Conceived, owned and produced by Worldwide Sports & Entertainment, Ltd. (WWSEL), the ICONS Cup is a significant departure from a standard celebrity golf event. It exclusively features low-handicap, A-list athletes playing morning foursomes (alternate shot) on Day One followed by 12 singles matches (Thursday, April 23). The ICONS Cup concludes the following day with 12 additional singles matches.
Team USA will battle Darren Clarke’s 12-man Team Rest of the World (ROTW) in a match play golf event. Its roster of international sporting superstars is set: Gabriel Batistuta, Luis Figo, Robbie Fowler, Andriy Shevchenko and Dwight Yorke (football); Kapil Dev, Brian Lara and Shane Warne (cricket); George Gregan, Brian O’Driscoll and Mike Tindall, MBE (rugby); and Sir Steve Redgrave (Olympic rowing).
For detailed player bios and more information: www.iconscup.com
About Worldwide Sports & Entertainment, Ltd.
Worldwide Sports & Entertainment, Ltd. (WWSEL) is a boutique sports, events and lifestyle business. It creates, owns and manages niche, high-profile sports events around the world. WWSEL produces unique content for global TV and digital distribution. With offices in the U.K. and Dubai serving 44 countries, its talented team generates international conversation with inspiring events like the ICONS Cup and the PLAYERS Cup.
For more information: www.wwsel.com
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