THE SECOND ANNUAL DEREK JETER CELEBRITY GOLF CLASSIC
January 23 & 24, 2005
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Derek with Leeann Tweeden |
Wayne Gretzky & Tommy Davidson |
Warren Sapp |
Photo provided by Eileen Barroso |
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Photos provided by Reynelle Bohn |
On Monday, January 24, Derek hosted his 2nd Annual Derek Jeter Celebrity Golf Classic presented by The Christopher D. Smithers Foundation, Inc. at Avila Golf & Country Club in Tampa, Florida. On this chilly 32 degree morning, more than 125 golfers attended this sold out event – an event that was sold out before formal invitations could be mailed!
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Derek & Natalie Gulbis |
David Cone & Gary Sheffield |
Photos provided by Reynelle Bohn |
This year Derek pulled in an unbeatable roster including athletes that were considered the best in the game, athletes who are predicted to be the best, and other well known entertainers to raise funds for his Foundation. The celebrity guests included:
Derrick Brooks, Roger Clemens, David Cone, Tommy Davidson, Carl Everett, Wayne Gretzky, Natalie Gulbis, Brett Hull, Desmond Howard, Aubrey Huff, Reggie Jackson, Michael Jordan, Brian Leetch, Jim Leyritz, Fred McGriff, Eli Manning, Tino Martinez, Charles Oakley, Jorge Posada, Ahmad Rashad, Harold Reynolds, Warren Sapp, Gary Sheffield, Tanyon Sturtze, Lawrence Taylor, Leeann Tweeden, Gerald Williams, Dave Winfield, Steve Yzermann and Don Zimmer.
Each one of these talented celebrities donated their time and several flew in from the west coast to support Derek – a big THANK YOU goes out to each and every one of them.
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Gary Sheffield, Harold Reynolds, and Jim Leyritz |
Photos provided by Eileen Barroso |
The Celebrity Golf Classic, a two-day event, kicked off on Sunday evening with a Draw Party -- an experience touted to be just as much fun as golfing! Ticket holders enjoyed a delicious dinner buffet catered by Lee Roy Selmon’s and then they had a chance to bid on some extraordinary auction packages while mingling and chatting with our special celebrity guests. Our Emcee, Harold Reynolds, did a fantastic job introducing and auctioning off the celebrities.
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Martha Korman's NGI foursome |
Michael Jordan |
Photos provided by Eileen Barroso |
Again this year, Michael Jordan was the athlete who brought in the most money; and we have Martha Korman, president of NGI, to thank for the high bid!
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Photo provided by Eileen Barroso |
By 11:00 AM Monday morning, after a 45-minute frost delay, the tournament began. Derek played a Par 3 hole with each foursome. Some great stories, hugs and laughs accompanied each group as did the occasional tee shot that landed in the water hazard… but that didn’t take away from any of the fun. The first place gross award went to Ron Cortina’s group from Goldman Sachs, headed by Giants great Lawrence Taylor.
Second place gross went to Jim Krivacs’s team that included baseball great Fred McGriff.
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Fred McGriff & Dave Winfield |
Photo provided by Eileen Barroso |
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Photo provided by Eileen Barroso |
The first and second place net awards went to Dominic Mazzone’s team from Oxford Industries whose golf foursome included celebrity Tanyon Sturtze and to Dave VanEgmond’s team from PricewaterhouseCoopers led by Hockey phenomenon, Wayne Gretzky.
Those hockey players sure know how to swing the club – Brett Hull landed the honors of both closet-to-pin as well as the longest drive.
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Photo provided by Eileen Barroso |
This was an extraordinary event and our success would not have been possible without the support of our Presenting Sponsor, The Christopher D. Smithers Foundation, Inc.; Official Airline Sponsor, Continental Airlines; Official Food Sponsor, Lee Roy Selmon’s and all of our other great sponsors and partners. We managed to raise more funds than we did in 2004 and are proud to be able to continue supporting our local Tampa programs, the Phoenix House, Hillsborough Education Foundation and St. Peter Claver School. Since the inception of the Classic, Turn 2 has committed more than $400,000 to the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.
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Tom Croci & Adele Smithers-Fornaci with Derek |
Photo provided by Eileen Barroso |
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The Jeter’s Leaders is a youth leadership, social change program named by the captain of the New york Yankees, Derek Jeter, and funded by his Turn 2 Foundation. The program is designed to promote healthy lifestyles, academic achievement and social change activism among high school students.
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