The Celebrity Golf Tournament played May 31-June 3 at Cozumel Country Club, a Nicklaus Design course, featured 18 celebrities, including an Olympic medalist, NFL and NBA players, and Hollywood celebrities for the benefit of two non-profit organizations.
The long list of celebrity participants included NFL players Isaac Fisher Curtis, Terrell Davis, Antonio Freeman, Eddie George, Ed Marinaro, Andre Reed, Bruce Smith, and Thurman Thomas; MLB players Dave Parker and Dave Stewart; Olympic Long Jump Medalist Bob Beamon; and others. Tournament prizes included a Porsche Cayenne Hybrid SUV and a trip to Palm Beach, Fla.
The course, according to club officials, is the only one in Mexico that is certified by the Audubon Society for environmental planning to help preserve and improve environmental quality. With Cozumel’s natural sanctuaries of various endemic species, preserving the environment was key. In designing the course, Nicklaus Design successfully balanced the strict requirements of building a first-class golf course within the delicate ecosystem of the surrounding mangroves, marshlands and tropical rainforest. The golf course is home to blue crabs, iguanas, crocodiles, raccoons and a multitude of species of birds as well as other wildlife which call this habitat home.
