The star power was as strong as ever, as Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, Ben Roethlisberger, Steve Spurrier, Dan Marino, Lou Holtz, Lynn Swann and a field of 35 celebrities played with Pro-Am groups on Wednesday, June 27. Presenting sponsor Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield enjoyed six Pro-Am groups, including pairings with Mario Lemieux, Brett Hull, and Marcus Allen. The team of Heinz and Grant Fuhr edged out Dan Marino’s team from Accenture to win the first-place team trophy.

The Thursday pairings included Dan Marino, Steve Spurrier, and Jamie Dixon with Highmark, Lynn Swann with Mellon Financial Corporation, and Jim McMahon with Great-West Health Care. Pierre Larouche and his team from Duquesne Light took home the first-place Pro-Am prize.

The final day of the MLCI was the second annual celebrity-only event that pitted Team Lemieux against defending champion Team Larouche in a Ryder Cup style face-off. After winning nine of the possible 15 points in the individual morning matches, Team Lemieux held on beat Team Larouche by a final score of 12 ˝ to 10 ˝ to etch their name on the Lemieux Celebrity Challenge trophy for the first time.

Thank you to all the sponsors that once again made this a tremendously successful event and helped to raise significant funds for the cancer and neonatal research projects of the Mario Lemieux Foundation!

Mario Lemieux, Dan Marino, Ben Roethlisberger, Charles Barkley, Brett Hull, Emmitt Smith, Sidney Crosby, and a field of 33 celebrities played with Pro-Am groups on Wednesday, June 28. Title sponsor Mellon Financial Corporation fielded seven groups, including the Pro-Am team winner led by Ben Roethlisberger and the second place team led by Mario Lemieux.

The Thursday pairings included former Vice President Dan Quayle with Mellon Financial Corporation, Dan Marino with Toyota, Sidney Crosby with Highmark, and Mario Lemieux with a group from Accenture. Tie Domi and Great-West Health Care took home the first place team trophy.

Friday, June 30 was a celebrity-only event that pitted two teams, one led by host Mario Lemieux and one led by defending champion Pierre Larouche, against each other in a Ryder Cup style showdown. After the morning round, Team Lemieux found itself ahead by two points after the Mark Rypien/Clark Gillies and Jordan Staal/Eddie Johnston teams were each able to score two points in the team matches. But in the individual matches in the afternoon, Team Larouche took 9 _ points from the possible 16 to overtake Team Lemieux by a final score of 16 _ to 15 _ and win the celebrity-only portion of the 2006 Mellon Mario Lemieux Celebrity Invitational.

Thursday featured the celebrity/sponsor pairings of Mario Lemieux with Accenture, Michael Jordan with title sponsor Mellon Financial Corporation and John Elway with a group from Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort. The first place Pro-Am team prize went to former Penguins coach Eddie Johnston and Simmons Business Systems as they edged Mike Eruzione and his team from Northside Foods by eight points.

The second day of the Pro-Am also marked the first day celebrity scores counted toward the $220,000 purse. Former Super Bowl MVP Mark Rypien and his team from Mellon Financial Corporation took home the team prize while a number of celebrities jumped to the top of the round one leaderboard. Chris Chandler shot an opening round 68 for a +27 point total and a one-point lead heading into the weekend. A familiar competitor took control of the event on Saturday. Four-time Lemieux champion Rick Rhoden posted a second round 70 for a two-day total of +50. Chandler sat one point behind while defending champion Pierre Larouche was only three points back.

Saturday was also highlighted by the Levitra Celebrity Long Drive Contest, which showcased the long ball abilities of 15 celebrity participants including Kyle Boller, Dan Marino, Jeremy Roenick and Jim McMahon. In the end, Billy Joe Tolliver edged out Andy Van Slyke for the title and donated his $10,000 prize to the Mario Lemieux Foundation.

Thursday was the first day of Pro-Am play, where group scores are counted using the Modified Stableford Scoring System. Mario teed off with Mellon Financial Corporation, followed closely by Jordan and the UPMC group. The large gallery was delighted to see coaching legends and Lemieux newcomers Chuck Daly, Dave Wannstedt and Lou Holtz, as well as Steelers first round draft choice Ben Roethlisberger. Shane Rawley and Great-West Healthcare took home the first-place team prize for the day.

The weather was the story on day two. The morning groups, including defending champ Rick Rhoden and Accenture, were able to play most of their rounds, but play was suspended at noon. The rain continued and the afternoon tee times were cancelled. Dick Anderson and the group from KDKA were declared the pro-am winners, and the celebrity portion of the Invitational would be shortened to a 36-hole event.

Play resumed Saturday morning with the start of the celebrity tournament. There were great pairings throughout the course, led by the comedic threesome of Charles Barkley, Vince Coleman and Tom Dreesen and the all-star group of Mario, Michael Jordan, and Tommy Maddox. Local favorite and Nevillewood resident Pierre Larouche fired a first round +24, only one point back of the leader, former NHL all-star Bernie Nicholls. Former Lemieux Champion Jack Wagner shot +20, and Rollie Fingers sat in a tie for fourth at +22.

Saturday was also a successful first day for the group of Nathalie Lemieux, Missie Berteotti, and Karen Jansen. All three women played two exhibition rounds and shot extremely low scores. Missie, a LPGA professional, and Karen, a golf instructor and wife of Dan Jansen, were near the top of the leaderboard both days of the competition.

Play began Sunday morning under the threat of more rain. Fortunately, the weather held off, allowing for a wonderful final day of golf. Some of the highlighted threesomes included: Pittsburgh Penguins Jay Caufield, Eddie Olczyk, and Craig Patrick; Charles Barkley, Emmitt Smith, and Marcus Allen; and Mario, John Congemi, and Dan Marino.

The Tournament kicked-off early Thursday morning with the traditional 7:30 tee time of KDKA-TV's Bob Pompeani and the Mario Lemieux Foundation group. The celebrity and sponsor foursomes were fighting for the daily team titles, also under the Modified Stableford Scoring System. The afternoon tee times featured Mario Lemieux with Mellon Financial Corporation and Tommy Maddox teeing it up with a group from Toyota. The competition was intense, but the team of Stan Humphries and Owens & Minor took home the first-place Pro-Am prize.

Friday marked the start of the 54-hole celebrity tournament and day two of the Pro-Am competition. Joe Pesci was not only a hit with the large gallery, but he also made a splash on the course as his team from GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals collected a score of +48 (57) to win the team competition. Three-time Lemieux champ Rick Rhoden - who started the day by chipping in for eagle on the par 4 10th hole - paced the field with a score of +26 (69) to establish a three-point lead over former NFL quarterback Steve Bartkowski. Pierre Larouche, Tommy Maddox, Michael Jordan and defending champion Jack Wagner all posted impressive first-day scores to stay within striking distance.

After a rain delay pushed all tee times back to noon on Saturday, the gallery took advantage of the improving weather and turned out in impressive numbers to support the Mario Lemieux Foundation. The featured group of Mario, Michael Jordan and Joe Pesci entertained the crowd like no other threesome could. Jack Wagner posted the round of the day (+26, 70) to pull within six points of Rhoden. Bartkowski retained his second place position, and Michael Jordan shot up the leaderboard into seventh place, as he was on track to post his best finish in Tournament history.