When celebrities and golf pros assemble for the BMW Charity Pro-Am Golf Tournament in the spring of 2012, they will not show up at Bright’s Creek Golf Club in Mill Spring.
After four years as one of the three host courses for the tournament, Bright’s Creek will no longer be taking part in the event.
Bright’s Creek CEO Frank Weed said the development, which was recently purchased by Alexander Salgado and Gabrielle Barragan of Protex Investment Group Inc., needs to focus on its members and community.
“We loved our involvement with the BMW Charity Pro-Am tournament,” Weed said, “but with new owners and new plans for the future, we felt our time was better spent focusing on our members and community.”
Weed said the development may find a way to continue an association with the charitable aspect of the tournament.
“We like the BMW Pro-Am people and would like to remain involved with the charity program,” he said.
According to officials of tournament organizer South Carolina Charities, Inc., Greenville Country Club’s Chanticleer course will replace Bright’s Creek as the third golf course for the 2012 tournament. The other two courses, Thornblade Club and The Carolina Country Club, will remain as hosts.
The 2012 tournament, presented by SYNNEX Corporation, will take place May 17-20, 2012.
“We’ve shared a great partnership [with Bright’s Creek] over the past four years, and SCCI is very appreciative of the effort that the Bright’s Creek management and staff have put forth for our event,” said SCCI President Bob Nitto.
Tournament director Darin MacDonald said moving the tournament to Chanticleer offers many new opportunities for the event.
“It not only gives the amateurs and pros a new and challenging course to play, it brings the entire tournament closer to our community,” said MacDonald.
The 2011 tournament raised $652,070 for 26 Upstate and Western North Carolina charities, organizers announced recently. One of the charities was the Foothills Equestrian Nature Center (FENCE) in Tryon.
The BMW Charity Pro-Am is the only tournament on the PGA Tour’s Nationwide Tour where amateurs and celebrities are grouped with nationwide tour professionals in a four-day, better-ball competition over three courses.
Amateurs, celebrities and pros rotate between three courses on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with the 14 lowest scoring pro-amateur/pro-celebrity teams advancing to play Sunday’s final round. Celebrities play once at each course on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The professional winner of the overall 72-hole event takes home $108,000 from the total purse of $600,000.
Amateurs and celebrities compete for individual prizes and cash donations to the charity of their choice out of the beneficiaries selected by South Carolina Charities, Inc.
Officials from South Carolina Charities, Inc. presented checks to representatives from the participating charities at the tournament’s annual check presentation, Communities for Charity, held at Michelin on Main in downtown Greenville.
Awards were also presented to the 2011 volunteers of the year, as well as one for the Nationwide Tour’s Volunteer of the Week. The 2011 volunteers of the year were Tony Crescenzo (Thornblade Club), Bonnie Murray (The Carolina Country Club), Ben Cromer (Bright’s Creek Golf Club), Gary Anderson (Transportation Committee) and Jim Ryan (Nationwide Tour Volunteer of the Week).
Since 2001, the BMW Charity Pro-Am has raised more than $8.6 million for 150+ Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina charities. The tournament is a leading charity event on the Nationwide Tour.
“It’s very rewarding to be able to give back to area charities and help those in our community that are in need,” said Nitto.
For more information about the BMW Charity Pro-Am call 864-297-1660, visit the tournament’s website at www.bmwcharitygolf.com or follow the tournament on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BMWCharityProAm.