Thursday, June 20, 2002
5/3 pro-am moves to Belterra
By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Johnny Bench and Cris Collinsworth changed golf courses for this year's Fifth Third Bank/Fox19 Celebrity Classic. The pro-am tournament to benefit the Children's Hospital Medical Center moves from The Grizzly Course at the Golf Center at Kings Island to the Belterra Casino Resort July19-21.
“The tournament being at Belterra benefits us with a great facility with an on-site hotel,” said Bench, who hosts the tournament with Collinsworth. “All the celebrities are staying at the Belterra. It's a (Tom) Fazio-designed course that speaks for itself. It will be a good challenge for the pros.
“Belterra realizes they'll get exposure for this and they're hoping people come and see what the resort has to offer. And they're hoping some of those celebrities might leave something at the resort.”
The list of celebrities includes former NFL quarterbacks Boomer Esiason and Phil Simms; basketball great Oscar Robertson; Bengals Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz; former Bengals coaches Sam Wyche and Bruce Coslet; former Red Chris Sabo; former NBA star Clyde Drexler; Mayor Charlie Luken; and actor Lee Majors.
Ray Charles will perform Saturday night in Belterra's 1,800-seat theater.
Joining the celebrities will be 15 each of Cincinnati's top-ranked professionals and amateurs.
The 15 amateurs will be selected at the end of June after the men's Metropolitan Amateur Championship.
Gallery tickets are available for a $5 donation to Children's Hospital. The tournament purse is $17,000, with $10,000 going to the winner.
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5/3 pro-am moves to Belterra
