Parcells to golf at Saratoga club

[LaTunaNostra]

Parcells to golf at Saratoga club
Dozens of celebrities sign up to play in June tournament

By PETE DOUGHERTY, Staff writer
First published: Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Bill Parcells, who spends as much of his free time as possible in Saratoga Springs, will be in the Spa city next month for the better part of a week.
Parcells, the former New York Giants and current Dallas Cowboys coach, is among 52 golfers who have confirmed their participation in the inaugural Celebrity Players Tour tournament June 8-11 at Saratoga National.


Eleven members of their respective sport's Hall of Fame, including baseball's Johnny Bench and Rollie Fingers, also will be in the field competing for a $225,000 purse in what will be called the Saratoga National Celebrity Classic.

"We have a solid list of names," said Arthur Bernier, president of Access Sports Limited, a Los Angeles-based company that is marketing the event. "In addition to the 11 Hall of Famers, we have guys like (former Bears quarterback) Jim McMahon and (ex-NFL and Notre Dame coach) Lou Holtz. There are some very recognizable names."

In addition to Bench and Fingers, other Hall of Famers in the field are football's Jan Stenerud and Paul Krausse, hockey's Stan Mikita, Grant Fuhr and Clark Gillies, bowling's Pete Weber, Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Marshall Holman, and tennis' Ivan Lendl.

Also on the list of golfers who accepted invitations are baseball's Bobby Murcer, Bret Saberhagen and Matt Williams, and former RPI hockey star Adam Oates.

Clearly the headliner is Parcells, who plans to reside in the Saratoga region once he retires from the NFL. He is featured in three commercials -- airing locally on WRGB Ch. 6 and WEWB Ch. 45 -- promoting the event, including one involving Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

"It's hard to get him in June," Bernier said of Parcells. "He's made a huge effort to attend. It's a difficult period for a coach with the minicamps going on."

The tournament will feature two days of pro-ams followed by a two-day, 36-hole stroke-play competition.

Tickets are available online (http://saratogacelebritygolf.com). Admission is $10 if purchased in advance, $14 at the gate. A weekly pass is $20 in advance, $24 at the gate.