Array of athletes scheduled to participate in 2LiveBeyond golf tournament

Six-time Major League Baseball All-Star Bobby Bonilla, manager Bobby Valentine and power-hitting outfielder George Foster of the Cincinnati Reds’ Big Red Machine World Series championship team are among the former MLB stars participating in the second annual 2LiveBeyond Celebrity Golf Tournament.

Former National Basektball Association player Antawn Jamison and five-time National Football League All-Pro wide receiver and South Carolina alumnus Sterling Sharpe are also scheduled to participate in the tournament being held at the Members Club at Grande Dunes on Saturday, May 30.

Organizers have essentially completed the list of participating athletes. The event is hosted by retired 17-year MLB outfielder Reggie Sanders and retired nine-year NFL wide receiver Andre Davis, who both now live in Myrtle Beach, and includes a concert and pairings party with live and silent auctions on the eve of the tournament.

The event dates have moved up from mid-June in 2014 to the weekend following Memorial Day.

Other current or former NFL players scheduled to participate include quarterback and Myrtle Beach resident Tyler Thigpen; receivers David Patten and Andre King; running backs Harold Green, Kevin Jones, Terrell Fletcher and Chris Taylor; defensive backs Rod Smith, Donnell Woolford and Bobby Bryant; linebacker Jay Foreman; tight end Byron Chamberlain; and offensive lineman Chester Pitts.

Baseball players include former pitchers Russ Ortiz, Tom Hume and Steve Ratzner and position players Ray Durham, Orlando Hudson, Marlon Anderson, Tony Womack, Junior Spivey, Alex Cintron and Desi Relaford.

Former Major League Soccer defender Michael Chabala, former NBA player Al Wood and Big Break Indian Wells golf competitor Will Lowery are also committed to play.

Tournament director Jamie Croland said the golf tournament will be limited to 28 teams of four golfers who will play with a celebrity and has nearly sold out at a cost of $1,500 per individual or $5,000 per team.

A total of 750 spectators will be allowed at a general admission price of $25 or VIP price of $100, which will include a tent with Planet Hollywood catered food and open bar.

Tickets for about five hours of festivities beginning at 6 p.m. at the House of Blues on May 29 are $150 for a single and $250 for a couple – any two people – and include live and silent auctions, hors d’oeuvres, carving stations, a free pour and concert by Heart tribute band Heart Brigade.

The auctions will include items from several genres including those specifically for women, art, travel, sports memorabilia, music memorabilia including a Garth Brooks signed guitar, etc. General admission tickets to only the concert are available through the House of Blues.

All Access passes for the entire weekend are $250 for singles and $350 for couples.

Spectators at the golf tournament will have access to a Fun Hole on the driving range where they can hit marshmallows in a long drive contest, and a Spirit Hole possibly with a DJ, photo booth, ice cream vendor, and games such as corn hole.

For tournament participants, there will be restaurants supplying food on four holes, and hole-in-one prizes including cars and $1 million.

The event benefits charities Sanders and Davis are aligned with as well as the Grand Strand Miracle League. The tournament’s celebrity athletes will participate in a Miracle League game that is closed to the public on May 29.

Sanders is supporting the Reggie Sanders Foundation that focuses on area families dealing with autism, and Davis is assisting Africa New Life Ministries, which cares for and educates children in Rwanda.

The motto of the 2LiveBeyond initiative is “To live beyond ourselves so others can dream beyond their circumstances.”

“Reggie and Andre speak to these individuals, and each of them have had illustrious careers, but more important to us is their heart,” tournament director Jamie Croland said. “They’re rallying around our mission to support the Reggie Sanders Foundation and New Africa Life Ministries, and they’re really committed to our motto to live beyond themselves so that others may dream beyond their circumstances.”

For tickets and information go to www.2LiveBeyond.com or call 843-453-5535.

This story was originally published May 1, 2015 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Array of athletes scheduled to participate in 2LiveBeyond golf tournament."