The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

A DOZEN celebrity golfers took to the green at Sandals Emerald Reef Golf Club for another edition of the award-winning resort’s “Celebrity Getaway and Golf Weekend.”

Hosted by Sandals Resorts and Access Hollywood, the three-day event was headlined by pro golf icon Greg Norman and television personality Billy Bush.

The remainder of the field included Garcelle Beauvais (Franklin and Bash), actress and Access Hollywood Live co-host, Holly Robinson Peete and her husband Rodney Peete (NFL), Alan Thicke (Growing Pains), Kevin Rahm (Mad Men), Steven Bauer (Ray Donovan), Gretchen Rossi and Slade Smiley (Real Housewives of Orange County) and Marissa Jaret Winokur (Hairspray) and Mayte Garcia (Army Wives).

The tournament was hosted at the 18-hole championship course designed by Norman.

Gordon “Butch” Stewart, chairman of Sandals Resorts, said the initiative is one of many aimed at bringing further exposure to the resort and the entire island of Exuma.

“Our job is to let people know about the Exumas. We have television advertising, the radio stations have come down here, the celebrities have come down here and it is all a part of an effort to get people more familiar with the Exumas,” he said. “Greg Norman is the easiest person to deal with. He loves it down here. This course that he designed is one of the courses that he is always talking about because he is so excited about the product. Not only that he has developed a golf course that is championship standard, but I’ll give you an example of how dedicated he is to this project. He took his plane from China yesterday, and when he got here, went straight to the golf course.”

Norman said he has had a relationship with the Bahamas for over three decades and has also forged a relationship with the Sandals Resort and the Stewart family which has the potential to positively impact the sports tourism product in Exuma.

“I get his [Stewart’s] idea, I get his connection, I understand what he wants so we’re on the same page. Anything I can do to help him I will do my best to guide it along and help it to be successful,” Norman said. “This here was a showcase for the resort and for the island. I thought it was important to really step up to the plate to bring awareness to this resort and get people coming in on a regular basis. With people coming in the Bahamian government will be the benefactor, the Stewarts will be the benefactors, the people that come here will be the benefactors, so it will be a beneficial relationship across the board.”

The three-day event teed off Friday with a Welcome Junkanoo Beach Party, and Saturday featured an Island Routes Caribbean Adventure Tour.

Sunday was the golf tournament, highlighted by the unclaimed “Million Dollar Hole-In-One Shootout” that allowed five of the best golfers a chance to shoot a hole-in-one for a $1 million donation to the Sandals Foundation.

“We are thrilled to host such a fabulous weekend for our celebrities and other guests,” said Adam Stewart, CEO of Sandals Resorts.

“And we welcome our friends at Access Hollywood back to host this golf weekend along with legendary golfer Greg Norman, who designed the spectacular Sandals Emerald Reef Golf Club, a true golfer’s paradise and is an ideal partner for our brand.”

Manager of the Ministry of Tourism’s office in Exuma, Petherina Hanna, said she looks for the event to expand in the near future.

“I am very excited, in fact the entire destination is very excited about the celebrity golf tournament being held here at Sandals. This event is going to bring benefits for years to come. The idea of celebrities coming here to golf is an intriguing one because you have 15-20 of them going back to their respective shows or areas of work and they are talking about spending the weekend at Sandals in Great Exuma.

“People are going to want to know more about Sandals and more about Exuma. So the Ministry of Tourism is very excited about projects like this,” she said, “This is only the beginning, next year the tournament is going to be bigger and better, so the more we can get the word about the beauty of Exuma, the hospitality of the people of Exuma, the more that is known worldwide the better for the tourism product for Exuma.”

Sandals Emerald Bay is a 500-acre resort set along a one-mile stretch of Exuma beach. It is the first, and the only, Sandals Resort to offer a Greg Norman-designed golf course.

Norman has devoted much of his time to golf course design and established his Greg Norman Golf Course Design in 1987.

GNGCD has completed more than 70 golf courses on six continents.