Nicklaus-Watson to take on other greats this weekend at Wendy’s Champion Skins Game; ESPN will air event Feb. 28 and March 1

Golf’s Golden Bear will partner with longtime friend Tom Watson this weekend to take on teams made up of some the game’s greats, including Ben Crenshaw and Fuzzy Zoeller, , Gary Player and Bernhard Langer, and Greg Norman and Jay Haas, in the $770,000 Wendy’s Champion Skins Game at The Royal Ka’anapali Course in Hawaii.  ESPN will air the competition on a tape-delayed basis Saturday, Feb. 28, and Sunday, March 1, from 4 p.m.– 6 p.m. ET. (check local listings for the exact air time in your area).

Each hole in the Wendy’s Champions Skins Game is a tournament within itself, with the prize money carried over if no player wins a hole outright. The $770,000 total purse is broken down to $30,000 for each of the first six holes, $40,000 for each of the middle six holes, $50,000 each for holes 13 through 17, and $100,000 for the 18th hole. The players will donate 10 percent of their winnings to charity–5 percent to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and five percent to the charity of their choice.

Nicklaus, who retired in 2005 from tournament golf, has kept the Champions Skins Game on his schedule as one of his few annual competitive events. Not only does he enjoy reuniting with long-time friends and rivals, such as Watson and Player, he’s also enjoyed unprecedented success. Nicklaus has won the event three times and his $1,350,000 take on the front nine alone would place him fourth on the all-time Skins Game career money list.

Nicklaus and Watson were the event champions in 2007, winning nine skins and $320,000. They held off a furious rally from Player and Haas, who had won $290,000 on a four-hole span on the back nine. It was the Golden Bear’s third victory in a Wendy's Champion Skins Game. He's also won in 1991 and 2005. And it boosted his record total of skins in the event to a remarkable 96 skins in 17 years.

The Nicklaus-Watson tandem topped their 2006 record for most money won on the front nine, when they opened the 2008 Champions Skins Game with eight skins and $270,000 on Saturday. They were shut out on the back nine Sunday to fall to second place.

Nicklaus has earned the most career money in the Champion Skins Game with $2.43 million, and his 104 skins in 18 years are 33 ahead of his closest pursuer, Tom Watson.

Jack Nicklaus' Wendy’s Champions Skins Game Records