BMW Charity Pro-Am.

Forty-six thousand (46,000) fans witnessed Michael Sim win the ninth-annual BMW Charity Pro-Am 2009 held at Thornblade Club. The win was the second this year for the Perth, Australia native, who finished the tournament at –22 under par (68, 65, 62, 69), beating Fabian Gomez by one stroke on the first hole of a playoff. Sim and Gomez finished regulation play, in the rain, tied at -22 under par, forcing a sudden death playoff.

The BMW Charity Pro-Am tournament belongs to the Nationwide Tour, and offers amateurs and VIPs the chance to play together with professional golfers. The VIPs donate their prize money to charity. During the eight years of the tournament, more than 6.7 million US dollars have been donated.

Sim is the second Australian to win the BMW Charity Pro-Am. Ironically, Nick Flanagan, the first Australian winner of the BMW Charity Pro-Am in 2007, shares a home with Sim in Scottsdale, Ariz. Sim is on fire this year, scoring two wins (Stone Brae Classic is Hayward, Calif.; BMW Charity Pro-Am in Greenville, S.C.), a second-place (Athens Regional in Athens, Ga.), a third-place (Moonah Classic outside of Melbourne, Australia) and a fourth-place finish (HSBC New Zealand PGA in Christchurch) in the first nine Nationwide Tour events played this year.

R&B singer/songwriter Javier Colon and his professional partner Michael Sim won the Pro-Am/Pro-Celeb portion of the tournament at -47 under par. He and Sim donated their $10,000 winnings to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Former NFL running back and Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers and his professional partner Kyle Thompson, and Bob Smith and his professional partner Bradley Iles finished tied for second place. Rogers and Thompson donated their $6,000 to Friends of the Guardian ad Litem of Spartanburg and Cherokee counties. Smith and Iles donated their $6,000 to Hospice of the Carolina Foothills.