Country Music Stars Swap Cowboy Boots for Golf Shoes at 2017 Diamond Resorts Invitational

ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 9, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Diamond Resorts Invitational™ benefiting Florida Hospital for Children, a golf tournament featuring 30 PGA TOUR Champions players with 48 sports and entertainment celebrities, announced three prominent country music artists to its entertainment lineup for tournament week, Jan. 10-15, adding major star power to the unprecedented event. (www.diamondresortsinvitational.com)

Jake Owen, Jana Kramer and Colt Ford will perform for players, celebrities and tournament guests during evening festivities at Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club throughout the week, adding a super-charged country flavor. The second annual tournament is the final PGA TOUR Champions "Challenge Season" event before the PGA TOUR's Regular Season opening event the following week, Jan. 16-22 at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai Golf Club in Ka'upulehu-Kona, Hawaii.

Both Owen and Ford are avid golfers who will also compete in the tournament, the first ever of its kind combining PGA TOUR Champions pros with celebrities in a three-day competition featuring mixed groups hitting from the same tees. The competition will be televised live on Golf Channel all three days, Jan. 13-15.

Owen ascended to stardom with five #1 smashes: the two-time platinum anthem "Barefoot Blue Jean Night," platinum-certified hits "Beachin'," "Anywhere with You," "Alone with You," "The One That Got Away," and the critically acclaimed "What We Ain't Got." Owen's latest hit "Real Life" released to rave reviews with Entertainment Weekly hailing the progressive song as "infectious." 

Ford, a former pro golfer who has played competitively in the PGA Nationwide Tour and PGA Web.com Tour events, co-founded his Average Joes Entertainment label in 2008, selling over one million albums and generating millions more downloads in the years since. 

Kramer is an actress and country music star best known for her role on WB's "One Tree Hill" and for her hit songs including "Why Ya Wanna," from her self-titled debut album for Elektra Records, "I Got the Boy" and "I Won't Give Up." She stunned the entertainment world this past fall by making it to the final four contestants in the primetime ABC hit show "Dancing With the Stars."

Both Owen and Ford will also be wearing golf shoes at the 54-hole tournament at Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons Resort Orlando. The event will feature two distinct competitions utilizing a Modified Stableford scoring format which awards points as opposed to counting strokes. The PGA TOUR Champions will play for $750,000 while the celebrities will compete for $500,000.

Celebrity commitments thus far for the 2017 event include Marcus Allen, Roger Clemens, Josh Donaldson, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Brian McCann, Kevin Millar, Mark Mulder, Blair O'Neal, Alfonso Ribeiro, Jeremy Roenick, Mark Rypien, John Smoltz, Brian Urlacher, Justin Verlander, Larry the Cable Guy, and defending champion Mardy Fish.

"This alliance reflects the continuing growth and evolution of the Diamond Resorts Invitational, now with this unique format and $1.25 million in prize money," said Michael Flaskey, chief operating officer for Diamond Resorts International®. "Our combination of professional golfers and celebrities will capture the public's imagination."

SOURCE Diamond Resorts Invitational

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