New York Yankees outfield legend Bernie Williams has played in two celebrity charity golf tournaments.
He played in the Derek Jeter Invitational in the Bahamas in December.
Considering the two won four World Series titles together, including three straight from 1998-2000, that makes sense.
For his second celebrity golf event, he chose to participate in Monday’s Hootie & The Blowfish Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am at the Barefoot Resort Dye Club.
Williams was invited to play in the MAM by a friend who is good friends with the Hootie bandmates.
“After many years of [Jeter] inviting me, I said, ‘I don’t play golf.’ But now I’m into it so it’s a great thing,” Williams said Monday at the Dye Club. “We were trying to make room in the schedule for this [Hootie event] and I’m just glad that it came together. I’m really enjoying it, even though I’m not that good of a golfer.”
The 30th Hootie MAM was played in front of a few thousand spectators on a warm, sunny day.
“It’s probably the first or second time I’m playing in a tournament where people are around and actually watching your shot,” said Williams, who splits time between houses in Florida and his native Puerto Rico. “This has sort of a tournament feel, which I’m not used to at all. The pressure is on to make a good shot.”
Admittedly, Williams, who is an accomplished jazz guitarist who was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award, was enticed to participate more by the chance to play with Hootie & the Blowfish on stage during the Monday night concert than he was by the golf tournament itself.
“I’m a big fan, I mean who wasn’t a big fan of Hootie & the Blowfish. It’s obviously a very influential band,” Williams said. “I’m so much looking forward to playing with them tonight. . . . It’s the best of both worlds.”
Williams was one of the main attractions for the fans at the Dye Club, who grabbed him for photos, pictures or a quick chat at pretty much every tee box.
“There are a lot of baseball fans here that recognize me. I feel like a rock star,” Williams said.
Jackie Bradley Jr. was another World Series champion in the field Monday.
He won the title with the Boston Red Sox in 2018, when he was also named the American League Championship Series MVP.
Bradley, who met Hootie lead singer and fellow USC alumnus Darius Rucker while playing for the Gamecocks from 2009-11, played in the Hootie MAM for the second straight year.
“I enjoy it, I enjoy the people, getting to celebrate with Gamecock country, which is out here,” said Bradley, who resides in Florida. “I would love to continue to come out here on the regular. . . . The goal is to always come out here, it’s important.”
Bradley, who most recently played in Major League Baseball in 2023, has recently joined the Indianapolis Clowns of the six-team Banana Ball Championship League that is headlined by the famous Savannah Bananas.
“It’s a good time,” Bradley said. “Trying to put some smiles on some kids’ faces. It’s something they really appreciate and I know the parents appreciate it as well.”
Bradley has already made his mark on the Clowns, hitting for the cycle in a game in Charleston and making a running behind-the-back catch in centerfield.
Banana Ball made its debut in the area with games March 28-29 at Springs Brooks Stadium on the Coastal Carolina University campus in Conway.
Other celebrities who joined the band on the golf course Monday included athletes Steve Smith Jr., Darrell Green, Alex English, Sterling Sharpe, Grant Fuhr, Tony Womack and Corey Miller; race car driver Michael Waltrip; actors/comedians Gary Valentine and Jackie Flynn; meteorologist Jim Cantore, and ESPN sportscaster Jay Harris.
Pro golfers who participated include current or former PGA Tour members Woody Austin, Richy Werenski, Billy Hurley, Scott Brown, Chesson Hadley, Trace Crowe, Brendon de Jonge, Ted Potter Jr., William McGirt, Luke List, Brad Adamonis, Charlie Rymer, Robert Gamez and Steve Wheatcroft; and current or former LPGA members Kristy McPherson, Brittany Lincicome, Brittany Altomare and Angela Stanford, the captain of the 2026 U.S. Solheim Cup Team.
Proceeds from the MAM benefit the Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation, which supports junior golf and educational initiatives for children in South Carolina, and has a fully-funded endowment.
Since its inception in 1995, the event has raised nearly $10 million for charity, according to organizers.
