Sammi Stevens received an invitation to play at the Rolex Tournament of Champions after an injury had sidelined Kyung Kim from the AJGA event. The Rolex Tournament of Champions is a 72 stroke play invitational even dating back to 1978, and featuring participants from 27 states and as far as Japan, Mexico and Canada.

Sammi Stevens had travelled 500 miles by automobile and car to be in time for Monday’s practice session.  The trip was possible as Sammi Stevens was not tied down by any other event on her touring itinerary. According to her, the timing of the invitation was perfect for her as it was the only week in her itinerary that was vacant. She was looking forward to participating in the event, saying that it was an honor for her to be chosen for the tournament, and she hoped to give a good account of herself at the tournament.

Chances of her doing well are high taking into consideration her first round score, which was a solid 1-over-par 73. Describing the run of play, she said that the front nine was tough for her, but she came back by scoring birdies on 12th and 13th holes.

At the end of the day Sammi Stevens was in a great position to make the cut and within striking distance of the lead.

The Rolex Tournament of Champions will have a new venue this year at the Blessing Golf Club. The club has been voted as among the top ten New Golf Courses in the United States. However, it is tough place to play unless the golfer is at the top of his game. The golf course has been designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., and is characterized by tight lengthy fairways, winding hills, and intimidating greens.

Sammi Stevens will have to adopt a play safe strategy to make an impression at the event. The easiest way to do well at the event is to stay away from the hazards and roughs and keep at the fairways. According to experts, an aggressive strategy could potentially misfire because of the higher propensity to make errors.

Emma Talley says that practice sessions are not sufficient for one to cope with the mental and physical pressures of playing at the event. Samantha Wagner is one of the youngest golfers at the Rolex Tournament of Champions at 13 years and 8 months, but she is known to carry a mature head on her shoulders. According to her, the secret of a successful run in the tournament lay in cutting down errors and running up a string of solid scores.

The Rolex Tournament of Champions will be played out at the Blessing Golf Club, designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. The course is expected to tax the players to their limit, featuring as it does tight, lengthy fairways, winding hills and difficult greens.

The Blessing Golf Club, tucked away in the woodlands of Northern Arkansas, has earned notoriety for being an unforgiving golf course, similar to some of the big names like Pine Valley, Bethpage and Pinehurst.

The Blessing Golf Club got immediate recognition following its grand entry in the year 2004. The Golf & Leisure Golf Magazine recognized it as one of the 10 Best New Private Golf Courses in the year 2004. Tom Jones, General Manager and Director of the Blessing Golf Club, is optimistic that the junior golfers will perform well at the newly designed golf course.  Describing the settings as intimidating, he said that accuracy and pin point precision was required to do well at Blessing Golf Club golf course.

The Rolex Tournament of Champions will feature, Emma Talley of Princeton, ranked 25th in the Polo Golf Ranking. She is no stranger to this event, having won the AJGA Arkansas Junior at this course a year ago. However, she knows that a repeat of last year’s performance is not guaranteed, keeping in view, the unpredictable nature of the golf course.

According to Emma Talley, the golfers have to be at the top of their game to succeed at the Blessing Golf Club. She also said that it was difficult to simulate the mental pressure that the course brings on the golfers and a golfer can practice all day, without being prepared for the challenges thrown up by the course. The only way to succeed at this course, it seems, is to keep away from the roughs and the hazards and keep to the fairway; but all said and done, it is not easy as it seems, because of the unpredictable nature of the course.

Emma Talley, who has a deep understanding of the game, says that playing smart is the way to go on this challenging golf course. Firmly, ruling out an all out, aggressive strategy, she says that it would only lead to further trouble for the golfer. However, one could shoot low scores by eschewing risks, especially when in a spot of trouble.

Professional golfers with years of experience behind agree that it is difficult to string together low scores at this golf course because of its difficulty level. Each hole on the golf greens has its own set of challenges, making it difficult to master in the long run.

Ben Frost, composer, musician and producer, has been selected as protégée to master musician Brian Eno under the 2010 Rolex Mentor & Protégé Arts Initiative program. The philanthropic program, a Rolex initiative, aims to promote artists who have shown great potential in their chosen field by putting them under the tutelage of master artists for a six month program.

The Australian composer, Ben Frost has earned accolades from critics and fans alike for his music which has been described as compelling, mystifying, disturbing and beautiful. The artist left for Reykjavik, Iceland after earning his degree in fine arts from the University of Melbourne. In Reykjavik he co-founded the Bedroom Community record label.

Ben Frost is known for his music which is a blend of Classical Mysticism, Punk Rock and Metal. His three most critically acclaimed works includes the Steel Wound (2003), Theory of Machines (2007) and By The Throat (2009).  He has collaborated with well known choreographers and artists of this era including Gideon Obarzanek, Erna Omarsdottir, Wayne McGregor, Amiina, Tim Hecker, Nico Muhly and Bork.

Currently he is working on several projects including a reworking of Tarkovsky’s Solaris and a composition for the new Random Dance Production, named Flesh in the Age of Reason.

The program will open a new world for the protégé as he will be able to learn the finer nuances of the art from the maestro who is considered to be one of the finest musicians in the modern age. The program involves sharing, collaborating, learning on the job with the protégé observing the maestro at work. The type of interaction between the protégé and the mentor is left to the two, with Rolex taking care of the logistics and travelling and lodging expenses.

Ben Frost’s mentor, Brian Eno, 61, visionary musician and theorist, composer par excellence, singer, multimedia artist and technological innovator, has influenced the world of music with his ground breaking work for the last 40 years. He has collaborated with some of the greatest artist of his generation, describing his work as an odyssey in unusual aural environments.

Brian Eno earned widespread acclaim for his work in the glam rock band Roxy Music in the early 1970’s. His work included groundbreaking scores like No Pussyfooting and the hit singles Here Come the Warm Jets. Later he branched into ambient music where he made a name for himself, composing music for Discreet Music and Music for Airports.

He has also collaborated with some of the greatest artists of the modern era including Paul Simon, U2, and Coldplay. He has also composed music for the forthcoming film, the Lovely Bones.

The New York Yacht Club’s (NYYC) Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex is a split format biennial regatta offering One-Design, Classic, 12 Meter and PHRF racing in the beginning of the week followed by IRC racing and the Rolex US-IRC National Championship. This keenly awaited event by the sailing community begins in the month of July every year, providing thrilling sailing activity on the high seas.

Peter Cummiskey, race participant cum organizer, says that the event would feature some of the best talents in the world of sailing including those with experience in America’s Cup, the Volvo Ocean Race and the winner of the Bermuda race that got completed very recently.  He also said that the format allowed boats with different configurations to compete. The first half of the week will feature One Design, PHRF and Classic classes, giving the owner the opportunity to switch over to the Rolex US-IRC National title.

The racing is very competitive with the teams separated by one or two boat’s length. The One Design fleets, comprising the NYYC Swan 42 Class, will feature 14 boats in all, including the defending champion Arethusa, owned by Phil Lotz, winner of the inaugural NYYC Invitational Cup in September, 2009. Roger Widman, who sails in the Quintessence, says that the sailing competition is extremely competitive, but the current form favors the Arethusa and the Blazer.  Blazer, owned by Chris Culver (New York, NY) and the annual regatta winner, faces stiff completion from the Hoss, owned by Glen Darden (Fort Worth, TX), runner up at the Regatta.

The J/109 class features 10 boats including the defending champion Storm, owned by Rick Lyall and 2008 champion, Gut Feeling, owned by Ted Herlihy.   The starting lining is also expected to feature class acts like the Beneteau 36.7.

The custom built 90 footer Rambler favorite for the overall IRC title is expected to face tough competition from Vela Veloce, owned by Richard Oland, winner of the IRC class at the 2010 International Rolex Regatta, Ron O’ Hanley’s Cookson 52, Privateer, winner of the RORC Caribbean 600 and Ray Robert’s STP65 Evolution Racing.

The Rolex US-IRC National Championship is constantly moved around the country in order to promote the growth of IRC fleet. The 2009 series was held in conjunction with the St. Francis Yacht Club’s Rolex Big Boat Series, the year before the series was co-held at the 48th Little Traverse Yacht Club Regatta. The inaugural series was held at the Storm Trysail Club’s Block Island Race week

As usual the Racing week will feature NYYC’s notable management skills, beautiful locales around the Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island, access to world class racing facilities in North America and excellent hospitality, courtesy New York Yacht Club’s membership and staff.

Cristie Kerr, 32, American, did her country proud by reaching the pinnacle of the women’s LPGA tour, the No. 1 position in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. Her ascension to the summit silenced many critics who were clamoring for an American Superstar in the Women’s LPGA Tour.

The achievement cannot be scoffed at lightly, as it has come against the backdrop of an Asian domination, with seven of this year’s event going to the indomitable duo of Ai Miyazato and Jiyai Shin. Before Cristie managed to pull of two back to back victories in the month of June, Michelle Wie was the only American to have won a title in the LPGA tour in more than a year.

Natalie Gulbis was naturally elated at this recent turn of events, saying that the victory was an answer to all those who doubted the ability of the Americas to win at the LPGA tour. At 32, Cristie Kerr, is at the height of her game, as evidence by her 12 shot rout at the LPGA Championship at Locust Hill. However, she will have to be at the top of her game to ward of the Asian challenge.

The Rolex Rankings, introduced in the 2006 season, has seen many exciting duels between two of the game’s most exciting golfers: Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa. However, with retirement of the two, the game saw a new breed of golfers coming to the fore, all aiming for the elusive No. 1 Rolex Women’s ranking.

The Women’s LPGA tour has been dominated by Annika Sorenstam and Loren Ochoa in the last decade, with Karrie Webb taking the honors in 1999 and 2000. Annika Sorenstam had a hold on the Rolex Player of the Year honors for five consecutive seasons before a certain Lorena Ochoa took over, holding on to the championship for four consecutive seasons, before retiring from the game in the beginning of 2010.

Cristie Kerr said that she would have to perform on a consistent basis to consolidate her hold on the championship. However, if her recent performances were any barometer of her progress, then her hold on the championship could be said to be strong.

Cristie Kerr’s game is built on a solid putting game and her ability to chip long and hard.

According to experts, it is her putting game that makes her special, separating her from the rest of the pack. Her putting game would be put through the grinders at the U.S. Women’s Open at Oakmont, which will feature some of the best golfer’s in the business.

The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event has been regarded as one of the Top 10 Festivals and Events for Spring 2010 by the Kentucky Tourism Council. The prestigious event is also a part of the HSBC FEI Classics TM Series.  The grand event has earned the tag for being the sole event four star three –day event in the whole of America as also for the fact that it pours in international attention on Lexington as well as on the Blue Grass State during the spring season. In addition, the major Three-Day event also pulls heavy crowd of about 100,000 viewers each year. The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event features a league of international Trade Fair and Sponsor Village where as many as 150 booths and vigorous demonstrations come to be.

The 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) is scheduled to be held at the Kentucky Horse Park during September 25th to October 10th. This will mark the first time in the history of equestrian games when the highly acknowledged equestrian sports event will be held outside of Europe.

The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day event features a league of best horses and talented riders competing for the prized money $250,000. This also earns the riders a chance to try their luck to get hold of the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing title with a prize money of $350,000 tagged along. During the event, the victorious owner is rewarded with the cash prize of $80,000 while the champion rider earns a timeless Rolex watch model.

The 2010 Role Kentucky Three-Day Event was won over by William Fox-Pitt and his gelding Cool Mountain. The duo champions not only bagged the Rolex title but also reserved their win at the Kentucky Cup World Equestrian Games test event. William Fox-Pitt maintained his pace and his lead all throughout the competition and with an impressive score of 42.8 in dressage he made well his victory in the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. William Fox-Pitt was closely followed by American riders Phillip Dutton and Becky Holder who bagged the second and third positions.

The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event is a CCI**** eventing championship which holds the credit of being the sole four star competition in US. Being a Four Star eventing competition earns the championship same stature as Eventing at Olympics games enjoys. The competition goes on to be known as a Three-Day championship however the competition spans over a period of four days. Several renowned equestrians call the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event as simply Rolex. The event witnesses participation of best riders and horses from eight nations each year who compete to lay a claim over the highly acclaimed title.

This week’s U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship (USWMRC) has been sponsored by Rolex and will see eight teams that have been brought in by The US Sailing Center of Sheboygan. This is Genny Tulloch’s third tryst with USWMRC. She is a member of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSAG). The race will take place on Lake Michigan on sonars for hoisting Allegra Knapp Mertz Trophy. July 8-11 has been set as the dates for the race. Alice Manard from Charleston and Lindsat Bartel will also be a part of the team along with Genny. Genny emerged as the winner last year by defeating her teammate Anna Tunnicliffe. She now holds the 9th place in the world under ISAF women’s match racing.

Winner of 2005 Sally Barkow, who also won as a crewmate for Corrie Clement, is also one of the participants. She enjoys11th world ranking in ISAF women’s match racing and she finished at the third place in ISAF sailing word cup event this year in Princess Sofia. Another participant in the race will be Katy Lovell. This is her sixth time in Rolex USWMRC and she finished at the third place last year. Pre-ranking of the skippers will be done using the race sailing rankings for ISAF in this Rolex sponsored event. The skipper on the highest rank will take part in ISAF Nations Cup Series in September and will represent the U.S.A

Stage 1 of the Rolex USWMRC is known as the double round robin and all the skippers will get to compete against each other in the race twice. The 2nd phase will be the knock out series for skippers who will be getting 5-8 places in the stage 1. Skippers on the place fifth and sixth will be sailing for the fifth place while the seventh and eight will compete for seventh place. The final positions will be determined by the first two point scorer. Stage three will be the semi-final and the skippers who come at the first four places from stage 1 will take part in it. The winner of stage 1 will get to select the opponent while others will compete against one another. Skippers who score two points first will go the finals.

The second last stage for Rolex USWMRC will be the petit final knock out series and the skipper who scores two points at the earliest will be in the regatta at the third place while the fourth place will go to the losing skipper. Last stage will decide the champion for the Rolex Women’s Racing Championship and she will be the one who scores three points. Second place will be given to the skipper who loses. With these details worked out the competition is only set to get more exciting, the excitement reaching a peak by the time the event declares its results on the 11th of the month.

Tighten your seatbelts as the countdown begins for the much awaited New York Yacht Club’s Race Week that is presented by Rolex and will take place at Newport. July 17 to 24 has been set as the dates for the split format biennial regatta. The first half of the Rolex sponsored week will see One-Design, 12 meter, classic PHRF racing and the second half of the week has been allocated to IRC racing which is also the Rolex US-IRC National Championship. Submission of entries are on till July 9th and those who wish to register online for the event and see the preliminary lists for entry have already begun crowding the official site of the Rolex sponsored event.

This is the first time ever in the history of this event that the participants and audience will see a blend of PHRF, One Design and Classic cases in the first half of the week itself. The people who wish to take part in the Rolex US- IRC National Championship will thus get a chance to change to the IRC mode in the second half of the week. Some of the most experienced and professional racers have already registered for the event along with amateurs and previous winners.

A rise has been seen in the One Design fleet and this month’s Rolex championship is expecting 14 boats including Arethusa which was the winner of NYYC Invitational Cup in September last year. The J/109’s North American Championship may have 10 boats lined up against ‘Storm’ belonging to Rick Lyall and Ted Herlihy’s Gut Feeling. July 20 will be a break day to switch over to IRC mode and the remaining four days will be a mix of middle- distance and short course racing. Rolex is also hosting a gala party to end the National Championship on July 24th, Saturday.

The competition is tough between George David’s Rambler, Richard Oland’s Vela Veloce, Cookson of Ron O’Hanley, Privateer, Australian Ray Roberts and Dan Meyer’s J/V 66 which is making a comeback this season. The focus of conducting the Rolex US-IRC National Championship is to motivate people to bring more boats in the IRC fleets. The winner of last year’s Rolex Big Boat series was Jim Mitchell from Vincitore. Rolex has joined hands with some of the big tournaments in the earlier years as well to make the National Championship a hit. This month’s event is one part of the 2010 US-IRC Gulf Stream Series.

NYCC’s race management team will be present throughout the week, supporting and providing any and all assistance that the teams may need. The races will take place on the beautiful waters of Rhode Island and Narragansett Bay. Best performers in all the races will win Rolex timepieces.

With a total prize money of $45,000 to be awarded under the Pirelli P Zero Bonus in the Grand AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16, the contenders look forward to be rewarded by the New Jersey Motorsports Park for their first-time achievements.

Rolex will mark its third visit to the Millville, New Jersey Complex with New Jersey Motorsports Park 250. In the last two years, the GT winners and the teams that registered their place as a winner in the Daytona Prototype scored their first victory at the 2,25 mile Thunderbolt Raceway. This makes them eligible for the prize money program which has been promoted by the Pirelli Tire North America under the name of Piralli P Zero Bonus.

As per the rules, when a team marks a first-time victory in the season in any of the classes, it earns a bonus of $5,000. However, in case the team has already won the bonus once, the prize money rolls over to the upcoming event. This has become a tradition in the Grand AM Rolex Sports Car Series and as more and more new racing teams join the event the prize money is only looking to get bigger. The season finale championship which is slated to take place on September 11 will see all the participating teams competing for the bonus regardless of the fact they have earlier won the bonus or not. The season finale will take place at the Miller Motorsports Park which is located near the Salt Lake City, Utah. Also, to be eligible for the Pirelli P Zero Bonus one needs to be a part of the Pirelli club which means that the team needs to have earned a top 10 spot in the final of 2009 Grand AM Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype and GT point standings.

While the winner of Daytona Prototype will be rewarded with the P Zero Bonus of $20,000, the winner of GT, New Jersey will receive $25,000. The year 2008 saw Mark Patterson and Ozz Negri register their victory in the Daytona Prototype while Tim George Jr. and Andy Lally marked their victory in the GT. Whereas in 2009 Ricardo Zonta and Nic Jonsson won their first Daytona Prototype victory, the GT title was won by Dirk Werner and Leh Keen.

Speaking about the Pirelli P Zero Bonus, GRAND-AM Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Kevin Hindson said that the additional bonus will take the competition to a new level and will infuse more excitement into the existing game. He added that the rollover feature recently added into the program might just end up turning the game around.

Rolex is not just a watchmaker but a company that recognizes passion and the zeal in individuals who single mindedly aim to overcome difficulties in all spheres of life to bring about a revolution in the way the world perceives things. In a move to encourage such progressive leanings, Rolex decided to honor young men and women who strove to make a difference in society. These youngsters were chosen on the basis of their talent, the effective manner in which they implemented their ideas in the areas of health and science, applied technology, exploration and cultural and environmental preservation.

Rolex has decided to honor five difference initiators choosing from candidates all over the world. The young winners, all under the age of 30, hail from Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, the Philippines and the United States.  The inaugural Young laureate Program is an extension of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise and chose the five here with mentioned from a candidacy of over 200 people. Hailing from the United States, Jacob Colker has revolutionized the way in which people get involved in charity and community service. All of 26, Jacob Colker invented a software tool that enables large tasks to be broken down into various parts and be delegated to a large number of people so that people have more time to dedicate themselves to community service. 25 year old Reese Fernandez comes from Philippines with her poverty alleviation scheme that enables and empowers women especially to become social entrepreneurs and drive away their penury for good. Reese Fernandez used her management degree to start her social enterprise company, Rags2Riches that taught basic sales techniques and management skills to women helping them become entrepreneurs.

Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu a 27 year old Nigerian developed a sustainable radio network that is owned and used by a community in Nigeria where farmers can share the latest farming techniques and agricultural tips with each other. This radio technology has helped these farmers to prosper and drive away their grievances related to farming. Nnaemka Ikegwuonu is a fighter who strives to alleviate poverty and health issues plaguing Nigeria. A Founder of Save Life Foundation, 29 year old Piyush Tewari trains police officers, volunteers and general public to respond to road accidents quickly and effectively administer first aid to save lives of victims. Piyush Tewari is applauded for helping to save thousands of near death accident victims. 28 year old Ethiopian Bruktawit Tigabu produces a series of television programs that teach children and their parents the basics of hygiene and health. The concepts are made easy to grasp with help of songs, dances and skits performed by the actors.

Rolex recognizes and encourages the vision of these Young Laureates and will give them $50,000 each for their organizations. The first half of the installment will be made to help them pioneer their project and the second will help them implement it as effectively as possible. The Young laureates will be presented with their awards on 10th November, 2010 at the Rolex Learning Center in Lausanne, Switzerland.