Jerry Rice will be leading a group of more than 30 National Football League stars heading to the island next week for the second annual Bermuda Golf Classic.

The NFL Hall of Famer will joined by active and retired professional football players for the event at Port Royal Golf Course and the public are invited to join in the fun.

“Albeit on a different playing field, we expect a fierce competition next week at the world-famous Port Royal Golf Course,” said Pat Phillip-Fairn, the chief product and experiences development officer at the Bermuda Tourism Authority.

“These athletes can play golf anywhere in the world and the fact that they’re coming here with their families for the Bermuda Golf Classic shows the undeniable strength of our golf product.

“We congratulate the event organisers who have shown year-over-year growth in the two years we have supported their golf tourism efforts.”

The Bermuda Golf Classic, which will be held on April 14 and 15, will feature the NFL athletes taking part in a 36-hole individual strokeplay NFL golf championship.

This will be followed by a team tournament in which two local players can “draft” two NFL players as team-mates in an 18-hole “best ball” tournament on April 16.

Among the players are Billy Joe Tolliver, a 12-year NFL veteran, NFL Hall of Famer Chris Doleman, television analyst and 11-year NFL veteran Jay Feeley, and Ray “Sugar Bear” Hamilton, who retired after nine years in the league as a player and 27 years as an NFL coach. Rice will round out the headliners taking on the Port Royal challenge.

The event was hosted for the first time last year and, according to the BTA, “the Bermuda Golf Classic is quickly becoming the premier golf tournament among NFL players” that “shows off the best of the island and attracts the attention of major players past and present”.

Funded as part of the BTA’s Tourism Experiences Investment, it is hosted and sponsored by Port Royal Golf Course, Cambridge Beaches, Bella Vista, Gosling’s and the BTA.

Cambridge Beaches will also be throwing a barbecue party on April 13 to welcome the athletes and give them a taste of Bermudian culture.

Residents are invited to dance and dine with the stars, but reservations, which should be made by calling Cambridge Beaches on 234-0331, are required and limited.

From 3pm to 8pm on April 16, Gosling’s and the organisers of the Bermuda Golf Classic are also inviting the public to the 16th hole at Port Royal for the “Party on 16”, where they can watch as players contend with the par-three signature hole, and request autographs as players exit the green.

• For more information, visit www.bermudagolfclassic.com