Professionals and amateurs will battle it out for a professional purse at the third annual Bacardi Par-3 Championship this coming March at the Fairmont Southampton’s Par 3 course.The two-day 36-hole championship golf tournament, is open to professional and amateur golfers with a professional men’s and ladies division, as well as the launch of an open senior division.The 2012 edition of the tournament will see both divisional and overall winners rewarded with a professional purse.Bacardi National Par-3 Championship 2011 champion Nick Taylor, Belmont Invitation Winner Joe Horowitz and former PGA Tour winner Ian Leggett, have already entered the event.The event will also benefit the Red Cross and The New Beginnings Education Trust, with tournament being sanctioned by the Bermuda Golf Association (BGA) and the Professional Golfers’ Association of Bermuda (BPGA).As a BGA and PGA of Bermuda-sanctioned event, tournament players will also receive national qualifications points.A Corporate Day for sponsors will be held on Friday,March 23 featuring a practice round, a hole in one competition and a skins game.“The Bacardi National Par 3 Championship has become one of Bermuda’s premier golfing events and The Fairmont Southampton is pleased to partner with Bacardi International Limited for the third consecutive year on an event that provides yet another reason for golfers to come to Bermuda,” said George Terpilowski, managing director of Fairmont Bermuda.“This tournament has grown in participation and excitement since we launched the first Bacardi National Par 3 Championship in 2010,” said Anthony Mocklow, Director of Golf for The Fairmont Southampton.“Par-3 competition tests short-game quality and skill rather than strength and distance, levelling the playing field between old and young, men and women. It means that any golfer with a bonafide handicap can play.”“We are excited because the Bacardi National Par-3 Championship is part of an ongoing effort by The Fairmont Southampton and Bermuda’s golfing community to energise our local golfing product and generate excitement about Golf in Bermuda.”Tournament entry forms can be picked up from the Resort Golf Shop at The Fairmont Southampton or downloaded from www.Fairmontgolf.com/southampton.The entry fees are $250 for professionals and $175 for amateurs and include a practice round of golf, tournament fees, continental breakfast on tournament days, cocktail reception and prize presentation.The deadline for entry is March 15, 2012.The official Bermuda e-mail of the event is par3[AT]fairmont.com, for further information please visit Fairmont.com/Southampton/hotelpackages for accommodations.