Brian Urlacher joins Emmitt Smith, DeMarcus Ware as celebrities look to tackle Las Colinas Country Club at 2023 Invited Celebrity Classic presented by Choctaw Casinos & Resorts

PGA TOUR Champions star Jerry Kelly and Urlacher square off on social media with Packers and Bears looking to NFL Draft and 2023

IRVING, TX – Brain Urlacher, the Hall of Fame linebacker for the Chicago Bears, will compete in the Invited Celebrity Classic presented by Choctaw Casinos and Resorts, the unique PGA TOUR Champions golf tournament that will include top celebrity athletes and entertainers alongside the legends of the game from the PGA TOUR Champions on April 21-23 at Las Colinas Country Club. The tournament is unique in professional golf with a field of 73 PGA TOUR Champions (50-and-over) and 40 celebrities playing in separate competitions for $2.5 million in prize money. The second annual event pairs celebrities and PGA TOUR Champions in the same groups over 54 holes in three days of competition. All three days of the tournament will be televised by GOLF Channel. 

Fans can enjoy complimentary admission for grounds tickets this year thanks to support and partnerships of key sponsors, Choctaw Casinos & Resorts, Energy Transfer and Invited. In addition to the grounds tickets, fans looking for an upgraded experience, Choctaw Club and Clubhouse tickets are available at www.invitedcelebrityclassic.com/tickets.

Urlacher was selected ninth overall in the 2000 NFL Draft. He had a successful debut season, winning the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and making the Pro Bowl. Urlacher’s plaudits include eight Pro Bowls, four first-team All-Pro selections and the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award (2005). He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.

Jerry Kelly is an 11-time winner on PGA TOUR Champions and won three times on the PGA TOUR. In 2022 he finished 4th in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup standings including 6th-place finish at the inaugural Invited Celebrity Classic. Kelly, who is from Wisconsin and a Green Bay Packers fan, had some words for Urlacher on social media. Click here to watch.

Other top players in the 2023 field are Jon Lester, John Smoltz, Emmitt Smith, DeMarcus Ware, Greg Maddux, returning champion Mardy Fish, among others.  The celebrities will be playing under a Modified Stableford scoring format. Last year, PGA TOUR Champions in the field included 2022 winner Scott Parel and Golf Major champions John Daly, Retief Goosen, Mark Calcavecchia, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh. 

The complimentary grounds tickets will include the three competition rounds compliments of Invited for the opening round on Friday, April 21, Energy Transfer for Saturday’s second round on April 22 and the final round of the tournament on Sunday, April 23, sponsored by Choctaw Casinos & Resorts. Additionally, upgraded Clubhouse tickets and other hospitality packages are on sale for the second year of the event. The tournament gives fans a truly one-of-a-kind opportunity to get up close with celebrities from the music, entertainment and sports worlds as well as the best players from PGA TOUR Champions. Daily clubhouse tickets are on sale for $95 per day and include access to the beautiful Las Colinas Clubhouse Ballroom with upgraded hospitality, food and beverages available for purchase.

Thanks to these sponsors and support, the Invited Celebrity Classic will look to build on the impact generated by last year’s inaugural event for the local charitable partners First Tee Greater Dallas, First Tee Fort Worth and Momentous Institute.

The Invited Celebrity Classic will be an event for fans of all ages, backgrounds and interests with something for everyone. As a company, Invited takes pride in its experiential hospitality from the golf courses to dining to family hang time. The tournament will be a reflection of how Invited Clubs combine exceptional amenities and unmatched service with a friendly and welcoming spirit. The Invited Celebrity Classic is more than just a golf tournament with celebrities, a fun atmosphere, incredible food, drink and family elements. The event connects to diverse social, charitable, family and business elements of the community.

With its status as the leader in the private Golf Club industry, Invited embraces its role as a leading lifestyle company, bringing people together through extraordinary experiences, impeccable service and opportunities to build meaningful relationships. The recent re-imagination of Las Colinas Country Club as a premier golf and country club showcases the company's commitment to delivering exceptional experiences across its unmatched portfolio.

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.

The tournament will once again benefit two children’s non-profit organizations, Momentous Institute, and the First Tee Greater Dallas and First Tee Fort Worth. Follow event updates and news at Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.                                                                 

About Choctaw Casinos & Resorts

Owned and operated by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, the third-largest Indian Nation in the United States with more than 208,000 tribal members and 12,000 employees. Choctaw Casinos feature a variety of gaming, hotel and resort properties throughout southeastern Oklahoma. Locations include Durant, Grant, Pocola, Idabel, Broken Bow, McAlester, Stigler and Stringtown. The Choctaw Casino & Resort-Durant underwent a $500 million expansion in August 2021 that added 1,000 more rooms and created 1,000 new jobs. In addition to the increased room capacity, the new Sky Tower also features an expanded non-smoking gaming floor and fresh amenities such as new pools, parking garage, retail space, entertainment options and dining venues. For more information, visit www.ChoctawCasinos.com.

About Energy Transfer LP (NYSE: ET)

Energy Transfer owns and operates one of the largest and most diversified portfolios of energy assets in North America, with a strategic footprint in all of the major U.S. production basins. Energy Transfer is a publicly-traded limited partnership with core operations that include complementary natural gas midstream, intrastate and interstate transportation and storage assets; crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGL) and refined product transportation and terminalling assets; and NGL fractionation. Energy Transfer also owns Lake Charles LNG Company, as well as the general partner interests, the incentive distribution rights and 28.5 million common units of Sunoco LP (NYSE: SUN), and the general partner interests and 46.1 million common units of USA Compression Partners, LP (NYSE: USAC). For more information, visit the Energy Transfer LP website at energytransfer.com.

About Invited (formerly ClubCorp)
Since its founding in 1957, Dallas-based Invited has operated with the mission of Building Relationships and Enriching Lives®. The leading owner-operator of private golf and country clubs, city, and stadium clubs in North America, Invited is relentless in its pursuit of providing extraordinary experiences, meaningful connections, shared passions, and memorable moments for its more than 400,000 members. The company’s mission is supported by 20,000 peak-season employees and a portfolio of 200 owned or operated golf and country clubs, city clubs, sports clubs, stadium clubs in 29 states, and seven BigShots Golf locations. Invited creates communities and a lifestyle through its championship golf courses, workspaces, handcrafted cuisine, resort-style pools, tennis and pickleball facilities, golf lounges, fitness centers, and pioneering programming.

Marquee Invited properties include: Firestone Country Club (Akron, Ohio); Mission Hills Country Club (Rancho Mirage, California); The Woodlands Country Club (Houston, Texas); and The Metropolitan Club (Chicago, Illinois).