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Roger Clemens and Brian Urlacher
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Former
Chicago Bears All-Pro Linebacker Brian Urlacher and former All-Star New York
Yankees & Houston Astros Pitcher Roger Clemens ran away from the 19-team
field on Sunday to win the 13th Annual Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational
(MJCI) hosted by ARIA Resort & Casino.
The
winning duo won by four strokes, taking home the title with a score of
nine-under 135, beating the second-place team of NFL Hall of Famer Eric
Dickerson and MJCI defending champion and MLB Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith. The
tournament was held at Shadow Creek for the fourth consecutive year and raised
more than $500,000 for charity.
Urlacher
and Clemens, who each took home $20,000 for their designated charities,
followed up their first-round score of seven-under 65 with a two-under 70 on
day two. They were able to break a first-round tie with Dickerson and Smith
with a stretch of three birdies in four holes and coasted to a victory. Dickerson/Smith hit a rough patch in the
middle of their second round resulting in a couple of bogies.
Defending
champion Vince Coleman, Smith’s partner in 2013, was teamed with NBA Hall of
Fame legend Julius “Dr. J” Erving for this year’s event and they finished in
seventh place with a two-day score of one-over 145. Fan favorite, NBA legend
and tournament host Michael Jordan teamed up with NFL Super Bowl champion and
“sack master” Dwight Freeney for the second straight year and finished in a tie
for third at four-under 140.
When
asked about the tournament and their winning results, Clemens said, “Michael
Jordan, ARIA and Shadow Creek put on a great event every year and that’s why
you see the firepower we had on the course this week. Urlacher played like a
champ and I was fortunate to have him as my partner.”
Urlacher
followed his partner’s comments with, “Roger has an incredible drive and we
played really well together. As a sports fan myself, it was incredible to meet
and play with (Ozzie) Smith and (Eric) Dickerson who were two of my idols
growing up.”
Since
its inception in 2001, MJCI has raised nearly $7 million for charities
including this year’s beneficiaries Make-A-Wish, James R. Jordan Foundation,
Keep Memory Alive, Opportunity Village and Cats Care, the NBA’s Charlotte
Bobcats’ charity arm.
MJCI
celebrities in attendance included:
Michael
Jordan and celebrities from the worlds of sports and entertainment including
Flex Alexander, Marcus Allen, Boyz II Men, Brian Baumgartner, Jerome Bettis,
Brandi Chastain, Chris Chelios, Roger Clemens, Vince Coleman, Richard Dent,
Eric Dickerson, Julius Erving, Larry Fitzgerald, Josh Freeman, Dwight Freeney,
Wayne Gretzky, Ken Griffey, Jr., Penny Hardaway, Ron Harper, Dan Jansen, Phil
Hellmuth, Bruce Jenner, Andre Johnson, Nick Jonas, Janet Jones-Gretzky, Toni
Kukoc, Kenny Lofton, Greg Maddux, Christina Milian, Jonathan Ogden, Paul
O’Neill, Jake Owen, Juan Pablo Galavis & Nikki Ferrell, Patrick Peterson,
Mike Piazza, Ahmad Rashad, Aaron Rodgers, Ray Romano, Gretchen Rossi &
Slade Smiley, Stuart Scott, Ozzie Smith, John Smoltz, Alan Thicke, Mauricio
Umansky, Brian Urlacher, Jesse Williams, Russell Wilson, Winky Wright, Adrian
Young and more.
