Lyndsay Fogarty
On Jan. 14-16, The Golden Bear Golf Club in Windermere will be buzzing with excitement as the inaugural Diamond Resorts Invitational celebrity golf tournament tees off. While the tournament boasts 70 celebrities vying for a $500,000 purse and will receive three days of live coverage on Golf Channel, the major goal of the event is to raise $1 million for Florida Hospital for Children.
Tournament week begins on Jan. 13 with the third annual Brian Gay Invitational, presented by Diamond Resorts International®, held at The Golden Bear Golf Club. Brian Gay, a PGA TOUR golfer and Windermere resident, will host the 18-hole celebrity-amateur competition, which will feature foursomes comprised of three amateurs and one celebrity. The tournament will be followed by an evening gala and headliner concert at Mystic Dunes Resort and Club. The top ten amateurs (five each from gross and net divisions) will advance to play alongside the celebrities in the Diamond Resorts Invitational for the following three days, competing for the amateur grand prize of a platinum membership in THE CLUB® at Diamond Resorts International®.
“I live here in Orlando and know how important the Florida Hospital for Children is for this community,” participant Johnny Damon, a former Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees World Series champion, says. “The charity fundraising aspect is critical.”
Damon will be joined by Mark Rypien, former Super Bowl winning Washington Redskins quarterback; Brian Gay; entertainers Larry the Cable Guy, Willie Robertson of Duck Dynasty, Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flatts; Golf Channel broadcaster Lisa Cornwell; and many others.
“The commitment from Diamond Resorts International and Golf Channel are the foundation for years of success,” Rypien says. “The celebrity field, the competition and the venue will become a major attraction for the Orlando area.”
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