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INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- A quick game of word association in reference to the LG SKINS GAME might elicit the response, 'Fred Couples.' For Couples and the SKINS GAME go together like turkey and stuffing. Like golf and the Coachella Valley.

Fred Couples has gotten used to spending Thanksgiving weekend at the LG SKINS GAME. (Feldman/WireImage)

The $1 million LG SKINS GAME moves to the new Celebrity Course at Indian Wells Golf Resort in celebrating its Silver Anniversary on Thanksgiving weekend (Nov 23-25). While the Celebrity Course does provide a new wrinkle to the SKINS GAME tradition, Couples' presence in the four-man field preserves another aspect of the LG SKINS GAME's legacy.

The undisputed SKINS GAME king, 1992 Masters champion and 15-time PGA TOUR winner, Couples will play in his unprecedented 14th SKINS GAME. Couples, 48, will compete with defending LG SKINS GAME champion Stephen Ames and LG SKINS GAME rookies Brett Wetterich and Zach Johnson, the reigning Masters champion. The title sponsor for the LG SKINS GAME is LG Electronics.

It is customary for all LG SKINS GAME players to donate 20 percent of their winnings to charity each year, and Couples has chosen to aid those displaced by Southern California's wildfires in October. Last year, Couples donated his charitable share ($77,000) to the Esperanza Firefighters Assistance Fund.

"The tragedies created from these wildfires pull at my heart," Couples said. "I figure my contribution is the least I can do to help relief efforts for the thousands of victims in the Southland. It is in times like these that all citizens need to pull together and help one another."

The LG SKINS GAME will be produced by ESPN and broadcast on ABC Saturday, Nov. 24 and Sunday, Nov. 25. Nine holes will be aired Saturday from 1 p.m.-3:30 p.m. ET and on Sunday from 3:30 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (check local listings). This is the 17th year ABC has served as the U.S. broadcast home to the SKINS GAME.

"It's only fitting that Fred Couples, our all-time SKINS GAME champion, be a part of our 25th annual event," said Barry Frank, vice chairman of IMG Media. "We are elated that Fred is healthy, willing and able to play as he has a grip on the hearts and souls of our faithful LG SKINS GAME following in the desert and on TV."

"Fred and the LG SKINS GAME share an unmistakable synergy," said Tony Renaud, vice president of new business for ESPN. "He was a putt away from winning last year's event. No matter how much he's played on the PGA TOUR, he usually raises his level of performance here. He is comfortable playing here and has won over the crowd. His long drives and accurate approaches are conducive to making birdies and winning skins."

Couples, who owns 34 victories worldwide, is the event's all-time winningest player by far. He holds the event records for most career SKINS GAME championships (five -- 1995, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2004), most career skins won (86), most career skins money ($3.9 million), most money won on Sunday ($3.18 million, more than $2 million ahead of his closest competitor) and most birdies in one year (10, in 2006), among other feats.

"He's a great guy, and this is his baby," Wetterich said of Couples. "He usually comes out on top."

With each passing year, however, Couples' participation in the LG SKINS GAME grows more tenuous. Beset by injury, particularly to his back, Couples' 2007 PGA TOUR season has been limited to three events, one of which prompted an injury withdrawal. He has pronounced himself healthy and fit to compete at this year's LG SKINS GAME. His tie for 30th at the Masters was the only tournament in which he played all four rounds.

When healthy, Couples is still highly competitive on TOUR. The veteran of five Ryder Cups, four President Cups, four Dunhill Cups and four World Cups placed third at the 2006 Masters and fourth at the 2006 Nissan Open. Couples earned the PGA TOUR Player of the Year award and the Vardon Trophy in 1991 and 1992. He has accumulated over $19 million in his career, and won the PGA TOUR's money title in 1992.

Couples hinted that his LG SKINS GAME run was near its end through last year's tournament press conferences -- "I felt like (2005) was going to be my last hurrah at this thing. And going out with zero (skins) was a little disappointing. I've had my run. I got lucky to be in (for 2006). It's always a lot of fun. I think people who don't come make a mistake."

Couples profited from taking his own advice last year, winning nine skins for $385,000 and finishing second to Ames, who won the $200,000 18th-hole Super Skin on the third playoff hole. Couples won the last six skins ($175,000) on Saturday with 25-foot and 3-foot birdie putts and led on Sunday after claiming two skins ($140,000) with a 5-foot birdie putt on hole No. 15 and another $70,000 with an 8-foot eagle putt on No. 16.

Because of his limited playing schedule this year, golf fans throughout Southern California and television viewers nationwide should savor Couples' participation in what has become known as his event and not take it for granted. A sixth SKINS GAME victory would be a hallmark as sweet as his seemingly effortless swing.

"I know where I've been at Thanksgiving for the last 12 or 13 years," Couples said. "It means a lot just to be playing. I've had a lot of luck. I've won a lot of skins, but if you play that many, you're bound to win a few. And I've caught a few breaks, but, mostly, I can make birdies. Making birdies is not a problem. If you make a lot of birdies, you're going to win a lot of skins."

Tickets for the 2007 LG SKINS GAME and LG SKINS GAME PRO-AM event may be purchased online at www.indianwells.com and at Indian Wells City Hall (44-950 Eldorado Drive) from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday. Tickets also will be available for purchase during LG SKINS GAME weekend. The LG SKINS GAME -- including the star-studded Celebrity Pro-Am on Friday, Nov. 23 -- makes for fantastic family fun.

The Celebrity Course opened in November 2006 to rave reviews. In addition to spectacular mountain views, the new, par-72, 7,088-yard Celebrity Course features undulating fairways and flowing water in the form of streams, brooks and split-level lakes connected by striking waterfalls, with vibrant floral detail. The new Celebrity Course promises an unmatched golf experience that will have players returning again and again.

The LG SKINS GAME's 25-year history began in 1983 when the popular two-day event was played at the Desert Highlands in Scottsdale, Ariz. for two years before moving to Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta, Calif. in 1985. The Coachella Valley became a permanent fixture beginning in 1986. The TPC at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif., was home from 1986-1991 and then the site shifted to BIGHORN Golf Club in Palm Desert from 1992-1995. Rancho La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, Calif., hosted from 1996-1998, followed by Landmark Golf Club in Indio, Calif., from 1999-2002. The past four years (2003-2006), the LG SKINS GAME was played at Trilogy Golf Club in La Quinta, Calif. Indian Wells will be its home for the next three years.

Over the past 24 years, the list of participants in the LG SKINS GAME reads like a Who's Who of the greats in golf -- Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Gary Player, Phil Mickelson, Couples, Curtis Strange, Nick Faldo, Raymond Floyd, Tom Kite, Paul Azinger, Vijay Singh, Colin Montgomerie, the late Payne Stewart, Greg Norman, Mark O'Meara, Tom Lehman, Fuzzy Zoeller, John Daly, Sergio Garcia, Corey Pavin, Adam Scott, Peter Jacobsen, Jesper Parnevik, David Duval, Funk, Ames and the only female player, Annika Sorenstam.