Vince Carter, Annika Sörenstam, DeMarcus Ware & More Join Celebrity Field for 2024 Invited Celebrity Classic
The Invited Celebrity Classic presented by Choctaw Casinos & Resorts announced serious starpower additions to the celebrity field for the 2024 PGA TOUR Champions event today. Celebrities officially added and committed to play include Wells Adams, Ray Allen, Tim Brown, Reggie Bush, Joe Carter, Vince Carter, Roger Clemens, Mardy Fish, Blair O’Neal, Larry the Cable Guy, Annika Sörenstam, and DeMarcus Ware. These celebrities join Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez and defending champion Tony Romo in this year’s field.
The full field will be announced at a later date.
The event will be hosted at Invited’s Las Colinas Country Club on April 15-21 in this unique PGA TOUR Champions tournament that includes a field of 78 PGA TOUR Champions players, 40 celebrities, and 10 Invited Member Qualifiers who will compete in separate competitions for $2.7 million in prize money ($2.2 million for the professionals, $500,000 for the celebrities).
Grounds tickets will be provided free of charge for all three days of competition, with Invited sponsoring admission on Friday, April 19, Energy Transfer covering admission on Saturday, April 20, and Choctaw Casinos & Resorts sponsoring fan attendance on Sunday, April 21.
Additionally, fans looking for an upgraded experience can purchase tickets to Choctaw Club hospitality located on the 18th Green or the BuzzBallz Patio Viewing Deck located on the 9th Green.
CELEBRITY ADDITIONS
Dallas Cowboys legend and Pro Football Hall of Fame member DeMarcus Ware will make his return to the course in Las Colinas. The nine-time Pro Bowl selection played nine of his 12 NFL seasons with the Cowboys before winning a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos at the end of his career. Ware played in 178 career NFL games, recording 657 total tackles, 138.5 sacks (13th all-time), and 35 forced fumbles.
Widely regarded as two of the greatest college football players of all-time, Tim Brown and Reggie Bush are set to be on the course in Las Colinas in April. Brown, a College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame member, played 17 seasons in the NFL, 16 with the Raiders organization. While at Notre Dame, Brown was the first wide receiver to win the Heisman Trophy. He is seventh all-time in NFL history for receiving yards. College football legend Reggie Bush starred at USC before becoming a Super Bowl champion with the New Orleans Saints.
NBA legends Ray Allen and Vince Carter join this year’s field. Allen will be back in the field after playing in the inaugural Invited Celebrity Classic while Carter returns after making his debut at Las Colinas Country Club last year. Allen, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member, is a two-time NBA champion and is second all-time in career three-pointers made (2,973) and seventh all-time in free throw percentage (89.39 percent). Carter played an NBA record 22 seasons, including three seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, finishing his career as an eight-time all-star and ninth all-time in career three-pointers made (2,290).
Major League Baseball legends Roger Clemens and Joe Carter will also be participating this year. Clemens was an 11-time All-Star and a seven-time Cy Young Award winner (most in history). He is one of seven players to win the award in both leagues. Carter, the hero of the 1993 World Series, was a five-time all-star and won two World Series with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Annika Sörenstam, widely regarded as one of the best female golfers in history, returns to the Invited Celebrity Classic after a third-place finish in 2023. Sörenstam has the most career victories in LPGA Tour history (72) and is fourth all-time with 10 career major victories. She won a record eight Player of the Year awards and is one of six women to accomplish the career grand slam.
Entertainment stars Wells Adams, Larry the Cable Guy, and Blair O’Neal will join the celebrity field once again. Adams is known for his time as a contestant on The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise and for hosting Hulu’s pizza making competition Best in Dough. Larry the Cable Guy is a multiplatinum recording artist, Grammy nominee, Billboard award winner, and one of the most well-known comedians in the country. Known from his time as a stand-up comedian on the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, Larry is the voice of Mater in the Disney/Pixar animated film franchise Cars. O’Neal is a co-host of School of Golf on GOLF Channel, professional golfer, and model. She was the winner of GOLF Channel’s Big Break: Dominican Republic and runner-up on Big Break: Prince Edward Island.
American tennis star Mardy Fish is typically near the top of the leaderboard at the Invited Celebrity Classic. He finished as runner-up to Romo in 2023, after outlasting the former Cowboys quarterback in 2022 to capture the win in the inaugural Invited Celebrity Classic.
COMMUNITY IMPACT
For the third consecutive year, the Invited Celebrity Classic will host a free Youth Clinic presented by Energy Transfer on Tuesday, April 16. The clinic will once again benefit children from three North Texas non-profit organizations: Momentous Institute, First Tee Greater Dallas and First Tee Fort Worth.
In addition to the Youth Clinic, Energy Transfer will sponsor the Pro-Am on Thursday, April 18. Energy Transfer will also provide free general admission tickets to fans on Saturday, April 20, in addition to sponsoring Saturday’s Military Appreciation Day where active-duty Military members can redeem complimentary general admission for each day of the tournament at invitedcelebrityclassic.com.
All Military members will have access to the Military Outpost on 17 Green during tournament competition days. Please bring your military ID to gain admission to the Military Outpost.
“We are excited to continue our partnership with the Invited Celebrity Classic for the third consecutive year,” said Vicki Granado, Energy Transfer Vice President, Corporate Communications. “Being part of this PGA TOUR Champions event is special to us in many ways from hosting kids from the Momentous Institute and First Tee organizations of Greater Dallas and Fort Worth for a golf clinic taught by legends of the game to honoring local veterans and their families throughout the tournament. And last, but by no means least, we are pleased to provide complimentary general admission tickets for all who attend the event on Saturday, April 20.”
Since 2022, the Invited Celebrity Classic has generated nearly $500,000 in charitable donations for local organizations over the last two years. The tournament’s economic impact is estimated at nearly $3 million for the greater Dallas area.
The Invited Celebrity Classic is operated by Mike Flaskey Entertainment. Flaskey, former CEO of Diamond Resorts International, has extensive experience conceiving and overseeing top-tier golf events with both the LPGA Tour and PGA TOUR Champions, plus All-Stars and Hall of Famers from NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL teams. Follow event updates and news on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.
