FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 21st, 2016

ONE WINNER WILL TAKE HOME LIFE-CHANGING $500,000 ON TUESDAY’S FINALE OF DRIVER VS. DRIVER

Ohio’s Eric Sillies (Wilson Staff Triton) and Utah’s Gavin Wallin (Wilson Staff Pivot) Competing for the Largest Grand Prize in Golf Channel Series History

Winning Driver to Go On-Sale at More Than 1,000 Retail Stores throughout the U.S. on Black Friday (Nov. 25)

Video Preview Link: Driver vs. Driver Finale Preview and Series Recap

ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 21, 2016 – On Tuesday’s finale of Driver vs. Driver presented by Wilson (10 p.m. ET), one of the two finalists – Eric Sillies (Cincinnati, Ohio), or Gavin Wallin (Eagle Mountain, Utah) – will win a life changing grand prize of $500,000 when his driver concept will be named Wilson Staff’s newest driver. Three days later on Black Friday (Nov. 25) the winning driver will officially go on sale at more than 1,000 retail and golf course pro shop stores across the country.

DRIVER VS. DRIVER “FINAL TWO”:

  • Eric Sillies, Cincinnati, Ohio (Prototype: Wilson Staff Triton) – A product designer who interned at Dick’s Sporting Goods in college, helping the aesthetic direction for the 2012 Nickent golf club line.
  • Gavin Wallin, Eagle Mountain, Utah (Prototype: Wilson Staff Pivot) – A product designer who has extensive experience in golf club design with multiple manufacturers.

 

ELIMINATED CONTESTANTS RETURN TO FINALE: Several of the series’ contestants will return to the finale, taking place at Cantigny Golf Club in Chicago, to discuss their experiences on the series and their thoughts on the two final driver concepts. The series’ judges – former NFL linebacker Brian Urlacher, former USGA technical director Frank Thomas and Wilson Golf president Tim Clarke – also will share their personal perspectives of the Driver vs. Driver experience before unveiling the winner.

SERIES PREMISE: Wilson Golf issued an open call and declared an unprecedented challenge to develop an innovative concept that could be transformed into Wilson Golf’s newest driver. Driver vs. Driver gave viewers an exclusive inside look at the golf club design process from taking prototypes to reality, at the company’s Global Headquarters in Chicago and its manufacturing facility in Southeast Asia to on-location at various golf events, where PGA TOUR professionals and stars from the world of sports and entertainment tested several of the driver concepts. Sports broadcaster Melanie Collins hosts Driver vs. Driver.

ABOUT WILSON SPORTING GOODS:

Chicago-based Wilson Sporting Goods Co., a subsidiary of Amer Sports, is one of the world’s leading manufacturer of sports equipment, apparel and accessories. Wilson Golf is a global leader in high performance golf equipment and uses player insights to design products that push golf innovation into new territories. Through its dedication to creating products that enable athletes at every level to perform at their best, Wilson has earned its place as a leader in sporting goods for over a century.

ABOUT GOLF CHANNEL

Golf Channel is a multimedia, golf entertainment and services company based in Orlando, Fla. Serving the most-affluent audience in all of television, Golf Channel – co-founded by Arnold Palmer in 1995 and now part of NBC Sports Group – is available in more than 200 million homes in 84 countries and 11 languages around the world. Golf Channel features more live golf coverage than all other networks combined, including tournament action from the PGA TOUR, LPGA Tour, The Open Championship, Olympics, and Ryder Cup, as well as high-quality news, instruction and original programming. Golf Channel’s digital platforms, headed by Golf Channel Digital, are leading golf digital destinations, delivering unmatched coverage of the world of golf. Fans are able to enjoy 24/7 live streaming of Golf Channel content through Golf Live Extra and NBC Sports Live Extra and select programming is simulcast via SiriusXM’s PGA TOUR Radio. In addition, Golf Channel connects the world to golf through a wide array of digital and lifestyle services including Golf Channel Mobile, a comprehensive app covering golf’s latest headlines, scores and analysis; GolfNow, the world’s largest online tee time booking platform and golf course technology partner, which includes the GolfNow Mobile App, featuring on-course GPS tracking, in-round scoring and game tracking; GolfAdvisor.com, the world’s largest golf course ratings and review resource for golfers, by golfers; a North American network of Golf Channel Academy instructional facilities; and Golf Channel Am Tour, the world’s largest amateur golf tour.

-NBC Sports Group-