Goodwill Pro-Am Golf Tournament To Kick Off
Monday [Dec 9] sees the start of play for the 60th Anniversary of the Bermuda Goodwill Golf Tournament. The tournament is the longest running Pro-Am in history and was founded in 1953 by the Bermuda Golf Association to promote the island of Bermuda and bestow goodwill upon all who participate.
This year’s tournament will take place from December 9th – 13th at Bermuda’s best courses, including Port Royal Golf Course, home to the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, Riddells Bay Golf & Country Club, Mid Ocean Club and Tuckers Point Golf Club. The event features four days of competition, over four different courses. The 72-hole stroke play competition has teams comprised of one club professional and three amateur players with participants playing in both an individual pro and a team event.
Past tournaments have brought teams to Bermuda from the United States, Canada, the UK and Europe. This year we have 60 teams – 26 from the United States, 23 from Canada, 1 from the UK and 10 from Bermuda. The popularity of the event stems from the reason that the tournament was formed in 1953; the opportunity to develop camaraderie, fellowship and the ability to meet and match abilities with fellow golf enthusiasts in one of the most beautiful settings in the world.
The tournament field will be divided into four flights and teams will play 18 holes each at Port Royal Golf Club, Riddells’ Bay Golf & Country Club, Mid Ocean Club and Tucker’s Point Club. The participants will be competing for the many prizes available, including daily team low gross and low net, longest drive and closest to the pin competitions. There is a hole in one competition for a Club Car which will be held on the 16th hole at Port Royal Golf Course. Other hole in one prizes include an Amazon Kindle Fire, a set of Cleveland Irons and a $500 Visa Gift Card.
Professionals will compete in a 72-hole Stableford tournament and the professional division will be divided into three sections: Men’s Junior Division, Men’s Senior Division [50+] and the Ladies Division. The event gives club professionals the opportunity to invite their members for a great week of golf and special events in Bermuda. Event organizers, Nicholas Mansell and Susie Marshall, owners of Tee to Green Ltd, are proud to be organizing and running this historic golf event especially on its 60th Anniversary.
“The tournament provides Bermuda’s economy with a significant boost during the off season” says Marshall. “This year the Bermuda Goodwill Tournament will attract approximately 400 visitors to the island for some of the very best golf and great times. This is a 10% increase over last year’s numbers with the tournament injecting close to $1.5 million into Bermuda’s economy during the month of December”.
Mansell is excited by the continued growth of the tournament during these difficult times. “We have 12 new teams lined up this year which is very encouraging. This year’s field of nine ladies teams is double that of last year and Lambton Golf & Country Club, tournament winners in 2011, are sending six teams this year. We would love to see the tournament have 120 teams entered as it did in days gone by and these are all strong indicators that the tournament is moving in the right direction.”
Minister of Tourism Development and Transport Shawn Crockwell hopes that all of the visitors that come to the island for the Bermuda Goodwill will enjoy themselves when on our shores.
“Bermuda Tourism is once again honuored to be a sponsor and be a part of the tradition that is the Bermuda Goodwill,” said the Minister. ”We extend a warm welcome to all our visitors and trust that they will have a great time on the golf courses and an even better experience taking in Bermuda’s wide array of natural beauty, our shopping, dining and sightseeing attractions. We value the significant impact that the Bermuda Goodwill has on our economy and wish the tournament much success next week.”
