Stars hit the green

Garo Yepremian gave up tennis and took up golf some 17 years ago when he moved from Miami to Philadelphia. The kicker for the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins said it's the best thing he's ever done.

"In golf, you meet a lot of people; make a lot of friends," Yepremian said. "The only bad thing is you have to carry all this equipment through airports."

Along with a slew of other stars in entertainment and sports, Yepremian didn't have any second thoughts about lugging a set of clubs to Hilton Head Island over Labor Day weekend to play in the Hilton Head Island Celebrity Golf Tournament.

Yepremian has played on Hilton Head for about a decade and, before a number of back surgeries this year, played in about 60 charity events a year, including in his own for The Garo Yepremian Foundation for Brain Tumor Research, which was started in honor of his daughter-in-law, who was stricken with a tumor and died in 2004.

Yepremian's group, which started on the sixth hole of the Arthur Hills at Palmetto Hall course Friday, got off to a fast start when a playing partner and tournament board member David Bachelder knocked a drive within about 12 feet of the pin.

"Look, it's coming down, it's coming down," Yepremian shouted to urge the tee shot on as it curved along the green.

"It's local knowledge," said playing partner Terry Finger. "It's local knowledge."

"Yeah, I knew about that," Bachelder deadpanned about his shot.

Taking advantage of the scramble format, Yepremian knocked in a birdie on the first hole.

The group fell into an easy camaraderie as they played. When Finger asked if he was standing too close to the kicker during a shot, Yepremian laughed it off.

"Nothing bothers me," he said. "I used to have 11 guys running toward me calling me all sorts of names."

The celebrity tournament is in its 28th year. More than $3 million raised from the tournament through the years has been distributed to children's charities, said Kim Capin, co-tournament director.

Last year, the tournament distributed some $250,000 -- a single year record. This year, sponsorships were a bit soft, but Capin hopes that people will come through at an auction on Saturday night.

"We would love to meet (the 2007 record)," she said. "Obviously this is a hard year economically. Only time will tell."

One thing is certain: The tournament had great weather on its first day.

"The weather was perfect," Capin said. "It was hot, but there wasn't a drop of rain."

The tournament continues today with a 9 a.m. start at the Robert Trent Jones Course at Palmetto Dunes. Sunday's round will be played at the Harbour Town Golf Links in Sea Pines. Golf runs through about 2:30 p.m.

The tournament is open to the public, and is free except for the pass fee into Sea Pines on Sunday. Organizers ask that spectators don't ask for autographs during play.

ROSE HILL OPENS

As the Hilton Head Island Celebrity Golf Tournament roars on this weekend, another golf course is coming back to life.

Rose Hill Golf Club in Bluffton opens to the public today after being closed for more than two years. Rose Hill residents were allowed to play Friday, the same day the new clubhouse restaurant, Villa Rosa Ristorante, opened.

Skip Blythe, a partner in the company that manages the course, said everything was running smoothly Friday afternoon.

But "smooth is a relative word," he said. "It's taken a lot of hard work at the last minute by a lot of people who work for us."

For more information, call 843-757-9030 or go to golfrosehill.com.