The ICONS Cup – a first-of-its-kind, two-day, team competition featuring iconic global sports stars – announces major champions Fred Couples and Darren Clarke will serve as captains for the inaugural event, April 22-24 at Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Earth Course.
The 1992 Masters champion, former world No. 1 and 2013 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee, Couples will lead Team USA. A member of five U.S. Ryder Cup squads (1989, ‘91, ‘93, ’95, ‘97), he also played in four Presidents Cups (1994, ‘96, ‘98, ‘05) and captained the U.S. team to victories in the past three competitions (2009, ‘11, ‘13).
“I’ve participated in some truly remarkable sporting events, as a competitor and a Captain” says Couples. “While those experiences have been tremendous, the ICONS Cup will be something totally new for me.”
Conceived, owned and produced by Worldwide Sports & Entertainment, Ltd. the ICONS Cup is a significant departure from a standard celebrity golf event. It exclusively features low-handicap, A-list athletes playing high-pressure matches. To be announced later this month, the 12-person teams will consist of legendary stars from soccer, baseball, football, rugby, tennis, cricket, basketball, swimming and other disciplines.
A 46-year-old native of Northern Ireland, Clarke has tallied 22 professional wins worldwide, including the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St. George’s Golf Club. As head of Team Rest of World, he will also draw from his experience as a member of five European Ryder Cup teams (1997, ‘99, ‘02, ‘04, ‘06) and his Vice Captain role on Europe’s victorious 2010 squad.
“It will be really interesting to see how these great sportsmen react to the unique pressures of team golf,” adds Clarke. “Collectively they’ve won scores of trophies, titles, medals and the like, but pushing them to find their top form on the course will be a fun challenge.”
Day One of the ICONS Cup will feature morning foursomes (alternate shot) followed by 12 singles matches (Thursday, April 23). The competition concludes the following day with 12 additional singles matches.
“Fred and Darren’s decades of international tournament experience adds yet another level of authenticity to our event,” says ICONS Cup Tournament Director Adrian Flaherty. “We know the excitement level will spike globally as we roll out a series of announcements in the coming weeks about our iconic players, key sponsors, benefitting charities, VIP packages and more.”
ICONS Cup www.iconscup.com
Worldwide Sports & Entertainment, Ltd. www.wwsel.com
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