I had the pleasure of attending the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial last week - and what a wonderful tournament - a great experience for Kodak Challenge fans and Kodak customers alike!

The week started off with Zach Johnson - who is just coming off his repeat win at the Valero Texas Open - talking about the Kodak Challenge and the Father of the Year contest with the media. Zach is very close with his father and is a new father himself! 


Then we got a chance to talk with Kodak Challenge leader Chris DiMarco and get his thoughts.  Chris is -7 through 10 holes in the Kodak Challenge.  He par'd the 13th hole at Colonial, so though he did not increase his lead, he maintained it.

   See the interview with Chris on the Kodak Challenge Facebook page - and become a fan while you're at it!

Ryan Palmer also weighed in on the Kodak Challenge and the Kodak pocket video cameras.  Ryan and his Caddie, James, have been using the Zi6 and the Zx1 to record Ryan's thoughts on the Kodak Challenge holes - and his golf game overall (along with his 2 yr old son). 

Videos are up on the Kodak Challenge Facebook page and can also be viewed on Ryan's Facebook Fan Page. 

Ryan was also our Celebrity Gamer on the Kodak Challenge Fantasy Pick'em game for week one.  Ryan did pretty good with two of his four picks geting birdies on the hole.  You can join in on the fun and the chance to win great prizes - register and select a team for the next Kodak Challenge hole - #14 at the St. Jude Classic.  Roster selection opens on June 8th, but if you haven't signed up, you can sign up at any time and will get a reminder email when roster selection is open.

Back at the tournament, as I headed to the 13th hole to scope out the Kodak Fan Photo Zone and do some twittering, I heard the crowd roar - I thought there'd been a hole-in-one... that's when I learned about the Caddie Races.  The Kodak Challenge hole is also home to a unique and fun tradition.  Fans bet on which Caddie will touch the green first, based on their bib colors.  The Caddies are well aware of the bets and tend to tease the fans as the crowds yell, "COME ON RED!!" or "COME ON WHITE!!".  The Caddies will run up to the green, then stop - or creep along the edge, building the crowd into a frenzie.  It is great fun and makes for a very exciting Kodak Challenge hole.


ACE!
But there was one crowd roar that WAS for a hole-in-one!!  Dean Wilson sunk his tee shot on Thursday for the first ever hole-in-one on a Kodak Challenge hole.  It bumped his score to -6 for the KC and put him one off the lead.  That hole-in-one could make all the difference in Dean's quest for the $1M prize!


And as if there wasn't enough excitement going on around hole #13 - Kodak was there taking once in a lifetime photos, where fans could get their picture taken with the 13th hole in the background.


KODAK CHALLENGE UPDATE
Chris DiMarco kept the lead while a host of others made moves this week, including Scott Verplank, Tim Herron, Zach Johnson and Dean Wilson, with that first-ever Kodak Challenge hole-in-one. 



Next week the Kodak Challenge heads to TPC Southwind for the St. Jude Classic on hole #14. Visit KodakChallenge.com to see the full leaderboard, photos, schedule and more.

USEFUL LINKS
Check out more coverage, follow us on Twitter, become a fan, see photos and more at the following sites:

• KodakChallenge.com
• Kodak Challenge Fan Page on Facebook
• @KodakChallenge Twitter
• PGATOUR.com Kodak Challenge Arena
• Kodak Challenge Fantasy Pick'em Game

Think your Dad is the best? Well, then why not enter him in to win The Father of the Year Contest?

Starting today, you can go to either wired.com or 5minutesformom.com (for US participants. For other participating country information, see below) and post in 300 words or less why you think your Dad should win this contest. Then finalists will be selected from each country and these winners will receive a Kodak Zi6 digital video camera. The winners will in turn be required to use the video cameras to produce a short video about their Dad to be posted back to the original website the first post was written to.


From those, 5 grand prize winners in total will be selected from the video entries, and those winners and their Dads will win a trip to Disney in Orlando, FL and get to watch the final PGA tournament in November 2009.

This contest is also running in Canada, Germany, and the UK. Here are the links and you can go to for each country, as well as the respective deadlines.

In Canada, go to CanadianParents.com, contest deadline 7/24/09
In Germany, go to Famille.de, contest deadline 6/12/09
In the UK, go to MyChild.co.uk or Babyworld.co.uk, contest deadline 6/28/09

Entries limited to ONE total entry per household. Families cannot enter at each website.

Good luck and Happy Father's Day!

This week the Kodak Challenge heads to the Crowne Plaza Invitational, and there is no shortage of excitement!  It marks the start of the Kodak Challenge Fantasy Pick'em, where you can win great prizes by selecting golfers you think will do well on the Kodak Challenge hole, #13 at Colonial Country Club.  If you're going to the tournament, you can also get a free souvenir picture taken at the Kodak Challenge hole!

WIN GREAT PRIZES WITH THE FANTASY PICK'EM GAME
It's live!  The Kodak Challenge Fantasy Pick'em golf game is open. Register and make your picks NOW because roster selection for this week closes at 8am ET tomorrow (Thur) morning! 


It's free and easy to play, just pick four pro golfers for your roster that you think will do well on the Kodak Challenge hole each week and get points based on their score.  Select a tiebreaker player that you think will do best in the overall tournament. 

Not a golf fan?  Don't let that stop you, go in and pick pros based on how well their name flows phonetically or even how well they dress (many have been rocking pink pants in support of Amy Michelson) - either way, you will earn an entry into the Grand Prize drawing for a Disney Fantasy Golf Vacation for four!   High score each week (with tiebreaker if needed) will receive their choice of a KODAK Digital Camera, Pocket Video Camera, All-in-One Printer or Digital Picture Frame.

We even have some insider information and pro picks from Ryan Palmer, PGA TOUR player who calls Colonial Country Club home.  Ryan's picks include this year's FBR champ and Masters runner-up, Kenny Perry.  Ryan also selected Rod Pampling, Jason Bohn and Steve Flesh for his fantasy foursome.  But don't forget Ryan himself - he birdied #13 in every round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial last year!

Go to FANTASY.KODAKCHALLENGE.COM now to make your picks and a chance to win!

KODAK FAN PHOTO ZONE
Attending the CPI?  Be sure to stop by the Kodak Fan Photo Zone and have your picture taken at Hole #13 -- a live shot during tournament play when cameras are not typically allowed. The pics are free, along with the smiles from the Kodak team!

Check out the full press release for all the details.

KODAK CHALLENGE UPDATE
Chris DiMarco took sole lead of the Kodak Challenge with a birdie at the Valero Texas Open.  Chris is in a great position to hold on to that lead this week at Crowne Plaza. 

Check out the leaderboard, info about the hole and more at KodakChallenge.com