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Golf’s Past, Present and Future Stars Converge to Compete in the 2010 NB3 Challenge

The 2010 edition of the NB3 Foundation Challenge will be filled with changes, but these things remain the same – a world-class level of golf and a group of professionals committed to helping their friend, Notah Begay, continue the fight against obesity and diabetes among Native American youth. This year’s event will be making the switch from the Skins Challenge format that was utilized in the first two years of competition to a mixed team, best ball tourney that is sure to thrill the fans at Atunyote Golf Club. With the new format comes the need to expand the field and this year’s event is set to showcase a who’s who from both the men’s and women’s golf world.

Twelve of the world’s best golfers from the PGA and LPGA Tours will walk the fairways alongside Begay to help raise awareness and funding for the improved health and wellness of Native American youth on Indian reservations nationwide.

Those in the galleries will have the chance to witness the vanguard of the game’s up-and-coming talent when Rickie Fowler, Anthony Kim and Hunter Mahan make their Challenge debuts. Fresh off his victory at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational which clinched him a spot on the 2010 Ryder Cup team, Mahan rides recent success into upstate New York and will make a tremendous playing partner during the Challenge. Fowler, the upstart rookie who is part Navajo, found his way into the Top 10 in four of his first 15 PGA TOUR starts, and quickly caught the attention of golf fans with his dazzling on-course attire and spectacular play. While Kim, who has spent part of his 2010 campaign battling injury, brings three career PGA victories with him to Turning Stone.

Joining these three young stars will be a trio of Challenge veterans that are easily recognized by their first names – Notah, Vijay and Camilo. Along with Begay, Camilo Villegas is the only player to compete in all three Challenges. He’s been a major factor in the past two having captured the 2008 event title and finishing runner-up in last year’s Challenge. Rounding out the scorecard of PGA players is Vijay Singh who will be teeing it up in his second Challenge event after finishing right behind Villegas two years ago. Singh carries in his golf bag three major championships and 34 career victories. He also captured golf’s version of a playoff championship when he won the 2008 FEDEX Cup.

The 2010 NB3 Foundation Challenge will pair its six PGA pros with six ladies from the LPGA to create a competition that is sure to be friendly but fierce. Headlined by two legends of the women’s game and some of today’s best ball-strikers, the women will be ready to take dead aim at the greens at Atunyote.

For the first time since they both retired, Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa will take to the links and play together at the NB3 Challenge. The two giants of the women’s game combined for 99 career LPGA wins during their playing days. Sorenstam is the LPGA career money leader and built her Hall of Fame career on the back of 10 major championships during her 15-year career. Ochoa ascended to the top of the Women’s rankings in 2007 and held the position for an astonishing 157 straight weeks before announcing her retirement this past April. The eight-year professional dominated the LPGA Tour winning four straight Rolex Player of the Year awards from 2006-2009.

Cristie Kerr and Suzann Pettersen will make superb playing partners, and their teams should be near the top of the leader board come the back nine during the 2010 event. Kerr, who recently held the top spot in the Women’s World Golf Rankings, is a 14-time winner on the ladies’ pro tour. Pettersen also ranks in the top five, and has the 2007 LPGA Championship title on her golfing resume. Rounding out the 2010 NB3 Foundation Challenge field are young and up-and-coming golfers Morgan Pressel and Anna Rawson. At just 22-years-old, Pressel has already won two tournaments and has also been a member of both the 2007 and 2009 victorious U.S. Solheim Cup teams. Rawson is in her third year as an LPGA pro following a college career at the University of Southern California where she won a NCAA Championship in 2003.

With this unmatched blend of veteran talent and youthful potential walking the fairways of Atunyote this August, fans will get one of the most competitive and entertaining Challenges to-date.