IPI of Toledo, Ohio acquires VIP Recognition and names Larry Difloe as general manager of its new gifts and awards division.

The seven finalists have been named for the inaugural Labron Harris Sr. Award. The finalists include John Bermel of Northern Iowa, Devon Brouse of Purdue, Jay Hardwick of Virginia Tech, Rod Myers of Duke, Pat Owen of the Naval Academy, Herb Page of Kent State and Rick Pohle of Williams College. The recipient will be announced on Jan. 6.

Editor's note: On Dec. 25-26, the ADT Golf Skills Challenge will air on NBC from 4-6 p.m. ET. The event was taped last month at the Trump International Golf Club in Palm Beach, Fla. Following is a transcript of the annual conference call which took place Tuesday with Annika Sorenstam, Peter Jacobsen, Nick Faldo and Jay Stuck, vice president brand marketing for ADT,

Q.: How was the experience of competing against the men again in a different format, your first time in the ADT Golf Skills Challenge.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yes. Well, first of all, for me this is a great opportunity to be with the guys again and see what their games are all about and also get a chance to get to know them a little bit. The format was obviously something I've never been a part of but I thought it was a lot of fun. I mean, you know, I've watched the golf skills challenge on TV before so I knew what it was about but to be part of it was very different. To get three shots at different stations was fun and, obviously the driving competition wasn't my strong suit, but other than that, I learned a lot by watching by them, being a part of it. I feel I'm a very competitive person so for me to be with the greatest guys in the world is a great lesson for me.

Q.: What skills do you think the guys have that maybe the LPGA players might not have? Talk to us about their skills.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, it's tough for me to compare what other LPGA players have in their skills but I can talk about my skills compared to the men. Obviously, the driving competition was something that I didn't really expect to do very well in. What I learned the most was to see the different shots around the greens and, you know, one shot that comes to my mind right now is the chip shot. Nick Faldo chipped with some kind of wood or rescue club and the furthest away with three balls was maybe 4 feet and it was quite a downhill, big break type of shot. Just to see what clubs they used, their approach, was very helpful. Another shot that I wanted to see was the trick shot. We had to work the ball from left to right, right to left from behind the trees. It was about a hundred yards or something but just to see how they approach it. They have a lot of imagination. Another shot that I loved seeing was the pitch shot. Peter Jacobsen won there. He puts a lot of spin on the ball. Just to see that technique. That's what I feel like I'm missing in my game and for me to become a better player, that's what I've got to do and that's the best way to learn, to look and see how somebody else does it.

Q.: The last couple of years, we've obviously had three women play on the PGA Tour -- two women and a girl, I should say. Do you envision a day where you see a woman out there playing full-time on the PGA Tour? And if you do, how far off in the future is that day?

PETER JACOBSEN: Well, I had a chance to play a little bit with Michelle Wie. I think last year when Annika played at the Bank of America Colonial and when Susie Whaley played up in Hartford, I think they were welcome additions. I think, for the most part, there were some people that had trepidation about their appearance but I think they were at a disadvantage because they were the first to do it. There was a lot of attention on Annika. And I think I think people were very interested in her performance. They just wanted to see how she did with all the media and all of the attention. And then it got a little bit easier I think for Michelle Wie at the Sony Open. And I think on into the future if Michelle or Annika or any other LPGA woman player wants to play, I think it's going to be a little bit easier. It's always tough at the very start -- breaking that barrier and getting started. I was absolutely blown away by Michelle at last year's Sony Open when she came within a chip shot on the eighteenth hole of making the cut. So I don't envision a lot of women -- maybe a couple of women are going to go the tour school and get their cards and play on the men's tour. I think it's going to be a very, very small number, maybe one or two, if any at all.

Q.: How far off in the future are we talking?

PETER JACOBSEN: Oh, I would say probably three to five years. I think Michelle Wie's got a great shot. I think if she continues to mature, gets stronger in her game, I think she hits the ball fantastic. I've had a chance to play with her and she's just like Annika. She's surprisingly long, she's very good with her irons, and is an incredible putter. So I think just getting over the stigma of being kind of a fish out of water. So I think it could happen and I think Michelle's the one that could do it in the probably three-to-five year range.

Q.: Who do you think has got a better chance, Michelle of playing on the PGA Tour or Mark McGwire playing on the Champions Tour?

PETER JACOBSEN: I think Mark McGwire's got a better chance of playing on the Champions Tour. Because of his strength, because he's been in the heat many times -- obviously in baseball it is a different arena than in the world of golf but Mark's a pretty talented individual. I think in nine years -- I think Mark's 41 -- in nine years if he continues to work on his game, he can have an impact on the Champions Tour. I think what speaks volumes about Mark's desire was last year he came into the tournament just to have fun and won the competition. This year, he spent a year taking lessons and got a new coach and finished last.
(Note: McGwire finished second to last).

Q.: (For Jay Stuck) Did you have the ADT Skill Challenge in mind when you approached Annika about an endorsement deal?

JAY STUCK: Well, Annika is one of the pre-eminent celebrities in golf today, clearly, as part of our brand strategy, one of the -- one of the ideas was to bring her into our portfolio. And, yes, I mean, clearly, Annica's presence in the skills challenge this year meant a great deal. I think that to NBC and to ADT it's going to mean a lot more viewers and a lot more brand exposure and we're pleased to be associated with her. (Note: ADT Security Services, Inc. signed a three-year sponsorship deal with Annika in June of this year. As a result of the sponsorship, ADT receives global name, likeness and image rights through December of 2006 and premier placement of ADT's logo on her golf bag.)

Q.: When you got involved with this event three years ago what was your thinking behind that? Just the greater TV exposure and closer involvement with these top-notch players?

JAY STUCK: Well, the skills challenge is one of our centerpiece events. ADT, for the last four years, has become much more involved in event marketing and in sports sponsorships as a way of building the brand. This gives us an opportunity to reach an audience that is clearly part of ADT's demo. It is an opportunity for us to build a brand in a number of different ways. And yes, four years ago, we began, you know, as the sponsor of the LPGA championship. That was closely followed by our sponsorship a year later of the skills challenge and we find that these types of event sponsorships are TiVo-proof. First of all, in terms of bringing our brand out in front of as many eyeballs as possible in an entertaining way is something that I think virtually every marketing person for every large company in the -- in the country and the world wants to do and we think that the skills challenge is one of the great ways to do that.

Q.: (For Annika) In the year and a half since the Colonial, does it feel different when you do this now? Like it's more accepted, like it's a more natural thing?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: At least I feel more comfortable in playing golf-wise and the pressure that I felt in going under the microscope at the time now makes everything else seem easier, if you know what I mean. So, for me, this has always been an opportunity to try and get better and I love playing with the guys. I think a lot of them are really cool and I respect them very much. For me, this is really an honor to be a part of it.

Q.: Annika, you won eight times this year. You came into the year hoping for the Grand Slam but you won eight times this year. You've won 33 times in the last four years. Can you just talk a little bit about how you've dominated women's golf?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Obviously, I'm very happy with the season, the way I played, especially my consistency. I've only played in 20 events and won half of them in total, so, I mean, I couldn't really ask for better results. And the last four years have been incredible. I've very thankful for that. I mean, I've worked hard and I have analyzed my game inside out to figure out where can I get better, what I've got to do, and what's my strength. I've spent a lot of time on the parts that I thought needed work and I'm seeing the results. I mean, it's just really a lot of fun. I'm thankful for that and obviously I enjoy what I do. So, you know, as things go your way and you see the results, there's nothing better when you've put in the work.

Q.: Obviously, everybody's aware of the recent headlines of all the steroid uproar in baseball. Given golf and the fact that it's really physical fitness involvement and better (nutrition) these days, is this an opportunity for golf to go a couple of rungs higher in the public consciousness, vis-à-vis, all these problems with the other sports: basketball fighting in the stands and what not?

NICK FALDO: You know, I think, well, the fortunate thing in golf is it's been clean forever and probably mainly because they've proven that there's nothing out there that can enhance our performance. So there's no point in anybody looking. I think golf, in the business world, has a very good reputation and fortunately there's nothing in the wings that is going to dent it. So, we're all fine on the drug side.

PETER JACOBSEN: I think we've already been way up ahead of a lot of these other sports and I think that in the LPGA, PGA Tour, Champions Tour, we have a great opportunity. First and foremost, we have the opportunity to go out and play with people like Jay Stuck and all the other business leaders and corporate gurus in the country. We can go out and enjoy 18 holes of golf with them. It doesn't matter what our handicap is, whether you're a tour pro or you're a 30 handicapper. So that's a leg up. We have an advantage right there. But then, combine that with all the problems with baseball and what's going on with basketball -- the joke that the NBA's become -- I think that just pushes professional golf even higher in everyone's minds. I think we all watch -- we don't want to see the disasters happen but everybody wants to take their son or their daughter or their father and mother and go out and enjoy a sport and (one of the best ones) happens to be professional golf.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I definitely agree with Peter there. I mean, you know, reading the newspapers and watching the sports, I mean, it's really sad to see what's happening to some of these athletes and what they're doing. And to me, sports has been part of my life since I was a little girl and athletes have always been role models of mine. But now when you watch some of this, it's just -- I think golf is better than any other sport at this moment for that reason. I mean, there are so many role models out here and this game of golf is growing in my eyes in many ways. So, I'd like to continue to see golf be the role model sport for everyone. I really don't understand all these drugs, and in golf, I really wouldn't see why it would ever happen here. I don't really see the benefits in it. So, hopefully, it will stay that way.

NICK FALDO: The other great thing we have in golf is our rules are black and white. I mean, if you cheat with your pencil, you change a scorecard, you are gone for life. There's no namby-pamby soft stuff where you go for six weeks rehab or whatever and that's the way it should be. The bottom line is, you know, they're just cheating. If you want to play golf, you forget that from day one, as soon as you come out, and that's one of the great things that kids learn. They learn some real values to their life. I mean, it's all through our game of golf.

PETER JACOBSEN: On top of that, Nick, I think the LPGA tour leadership through the years and the PGA tour leadership through the years has stated exactly what Nick said: it's black and white. If there's been any problems in the past with discipline, Tim Finchem or Ty Votaw, any of the commissioners of those two organizations, they have dealt with it quickly and severely. And also, the player's organizations in these other sports protect the players. That's their job. We don't have a player's organization on the tour or on the LPGA tour, nor do we need one. Commissioner Finchem did a fantastic job and continues to do that. Same with Ty Votaw, out there to level the playing field. So Annika can go out and dominate, Nick can win, I can win, other players can win. We can all rise to the occasion and not worry about anything else but the competition. You leave it on the golf course.

PETER JACOBSEN: There's nothing in the tour policy -- there's no substance that's banned right now because, as you said, I don't think there's anything out there. Do you ever foresee anything out there that would have to be banned?

NICK FALDO: Well, I would say no because if you look at the level of screening…I would have thought they would have come up with something if there was something that would ever enhance golf it would already be out there. But there's never been a case. You can go back -- well, how long has drugs been involved in sport -- 30-40 years maybe -- look at all our great athletes -- Nicklaus, Palmer and those guys. They set an example. As Peter said, we play purely competitively. We are the bastions of competitive sport. You know, you go out and you play fair and square and you know darn well that nobody else is taking advantage. If another guy scrapes a blooming groove (on his club)and the whole tour knows about it, then you have a stigma and you're gone. So, you know, it just doesn't happen. We have the honor thing in golf, as simple as that. I mean, you just can't risk the stigma of doing it. That's it. You're gone for life. I think that's the thing. I'm amazed that (in other sports) they are able to forget. You can do something or serve your (punishment) and have your title stripped and then come back and try and win some more. But everybody must look at you and think, well, you're a cheat, you know. So what are you doing now?

PETER JACOBSEN: Let me just say another thing on top of that. I've been on the policy board a couple of times and in both administrations -- Commissioner Finchem and Commissioner Beman. We addressed substance abuse or performance-enhancing drugs and we all agreed there's really no point to it because if you drink or you smoke marijuana or you're taking pills, it's going to totally diminish your performance. You've got to be at the top of your game mentally and physically to be able to win golf tournaments and that's why I think you see now this fitness craze that everybody talks about on tour. It's only made players better. And then talking about steroids, I would be absolutely terrified to do something like that to where it might affect my body adversely. Whether it would affect my performance on the golf course, I'm not willing to take that risk and I'm not sure anybody in the game is willing to take that risk. So, I think, wisely, the policy board has decided to not step into that maelstrom and I don't think that they're going to in the future because, as Nick said, it's a moot point.

Q.: Nick, back to the ADT Skills Challenge you just won. Obviously, your skills are still really well honed. Are you telling us something? You gearing up for an '05 ...

NICK FALDO: The good thing about the skills challenge this year was they actually threw some skills at us. You know, we had the trouble shot -- the recovery shot from behind the tree and it was howling left to right with water on the right and around a palm tree so that was actually -- that adds a serious degree of difficulty to it. And the bunker shot was difficult. There was some good stuff. I think it was a very good event.

Q.: In your mind, for you guys, what do you think are the most important things for players on the PGA tour? Which skills lead to success?

NICK FALDO: Well, I think now the ones I pay attention to -- I mean, driving accuracy is a factual one. You're either on the fairway or not. That's useful. You know, greens in regulation to me doesn't do anything because you can hit every green and be 50 feet from the hole and you can miss every green and be 15 feet just, one inch off the edge staring at the hole. So I know where I'd rather be. You know, I'd rather be an inch off the green and I've technically missed every green but I've got a chance. Putts per round is important. I think this new one they've been putting up on TV. The (distance) that a guy holes in a day is actually a very useful one. To see Mike Weir at The Player's Championship there or the tour championship in Atlanta, I mean, he holed 350-odd feet worth of putt. He was over a hundred-plus ahead of the next guy and I think that one might have a bit of -- a bit of value to just show who's making the putts that we all want to make. As Peter knows, some days you go in and (every lie) is a career (bad lie) and you hit your greatest shot for 12 feet and miss the putt. So you've missed every one but actually you were pretty pleased to even have half a chance. So there's only a few skills that that I really look at. Stroke average is probably the main statistic at the end of the day. I mean, that's the bottom line. What you're trying to is make a score each week.

PETER JACOBSEN: I think (Nick's) right on. With this new shot link technology we've got, it's amazing. What I like to do is, after 72 holes, add up the amount of putts that I hole. Now, obviously, if you've played 72 holes and you've made 72 feet of putts, that means you've made a one-footer on every hole. That means you made no putts. So, as Nick said, when (Mike Weir made 350 feet of putt for the week, I mean, that's phenomenal. The other one that I like is scrambling. Obviously, you can -- you can see what percentage of greens you're missing and where you're getting up and down because let's face it, it is great to make a lot of birdies but if you miss -- if you're averaging missing five greens around, you want to get all five of those up and in so you're not making any bogies. And the one that I really like, which I would call more of the guts than anything, would be the bounce-back. That's not in the paper but that is in our stat sheet and you can find it. It's buried but if you find it, it's kind of neat to see the percentage or how many times do you make a birdie after making a bogey; how well do you bounce back, which, again, I call it the guts or the determination or the hanging of the head. Does a guy make a bogey and hang his head for three or four holes, make another bogey, make a couple of pars, and then make a birdie? My bounce-back has always been pretty good. I make a bogey, boom, I come back with a birdie the next hole. So, again, it's hidden but it's useful.

Q: You might have just finished your best year all around. You've talked in the past about maybe backing off a bit and starting a family and that sort of thing. What does this year do for you for your immediate plans and for down the road a bit?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, for my immediate plans, I really want to try and achieve the goal that I set up for this year and that was to win all four majors. I want to give it another shot. This year, I won twice in one year and I believe I can do better than that. So that really sets it up for next year. I mean, I am still cutting down on my schedule. This year, I played a total of 20 tournaments, 18 on the LPGA, so schedule-wise, probably about the same amount of tournaments. I don't think I want to play less because it would be tough to be competitive. I do enjoy my time off the course, too, you know, with personal interests, so if I can keep the schedule I did this year and still perform, I mean, that's obviously my goal.

Q.: When you have three shots at a certain kind of shot, do you approach it differently? Did you find yourselves changing clubs a lot?

PETER JACOBSEN: Well, don't really find a lot of club changing. We did a little bit more this year because the wind was blowing probably 15 to 20 miles an hour which causes some problems when you're hitting the longer shots and the trouble shot, but I think the idea is to approach each shot on its own. I don't try to put one safe and then try to hone in. Just like in tournament competition, you try to hit your best shot on each -- on each swing. But the most fun at the ADT Skills Challenge is the chatter back and forth. If Nick's hitting, I'm up there giving him a hard time. You know, we tried to leave Annika alone this year because we've got great respect for her and a lot of the guys really don't know Annika as well as we do now. But obviously knowing Price and Faldo and myself and McGwire, you know, we were letting a lot of fun comments out and that's kind of the real -- the real beauty and the challenge of the ADT Skills Challenge.

NICK FALDO: You'll see what you know what you want to hit. If you're hitting a six iron and you come up a bit short, you know that you can just somehow make it, you know, go a little bit further, I don't think there is a need to change clubs much.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I was watching quite a bit, taking mental notes on what clubs others were using. But to me it was all or nothing. I mean, that's what's so fun with this format. You're just trying to win and then trying to hit the best shot you can. So, I was trying to be aggressive at any shot I could. I looked at the guys. They were using some different clubs than I was around the greens and those are the things I've got to learn from and that's why they're so good.

Q.: Were there any raised eyebrows from the PGA tour players when you brought in a non-PGA tour player John Elway and then you brought in Mark McGwire?

JAY STUCK: Well, I think you'd have to ask the PGA guys. The invitations are extended through NBC and it's a combination of a number of factors as to who gets to be invited. And certainly, you know, the market value, the viewership is important and over the years this ADT Skills Challenge has changed. I think that every year it seems to be getting bigger and better and, you know, as to -- as to the reasons and the reactions, I think perhaps that question ought to be addressed to the PGA folks.

PETER JACOBSEN: I'll say right now that having Annika and John Elway and Mark McGwire kind of the crossing over of the lines makes this event that much more special. I love to play with Nick Faldo and Nick Price and all the other players but for us to have Annika or anybody else from a different walk of life or a different tour is very interesting and I think that's why the ADT Skills Challenge has grown in viewership and excitement and acceptance over the years.