Columnist Kate Maddox: Fairway to Heaven teed off with the stars

Kate Maddox

Tuesday, Oct. 19, 1999 | 10:11 a.m.

Kate Maddox's column appears Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, only in the Las Vegas Sun. Reach her at kmaddox@vegas.com or 259-2309. To subscribe to the Sun, call 383-0400.

VH1's Fairway to Heaven rock 'n' roll celebrity golf tournament teed off Monday at the Las Vegas Country Club.

Dozens of celebrities, including rock stars and pro golfers, were in attendance. Golf lover Joe Pesci was there, playing on a team with Darius Rucker, a k a Hootie, and pro Phil Mickelson. Pesci was gracious to fans who wanted autographs and pictures, anyone who wasn't scared off by the large gold and diamond-studded gun charm he wore on his necklace. Leave it to Pesci to accessorize with a firearm.

Rocker Alice Cooper, winner of the tourney for the past three years, was in attendance, lamenting with a laugh the fact that golf wasn't more violent. "Here we've got these nice heavy clubs and no one to use them on."

Local Las Vegas golf hero Tommy Armour III was there, fresh off a hot run at the Las Vegas Invitational last week.

"Party of Five" heartthrob Scott Wolf played a nice game. He spent Sunday evening at the Fairway to Heaven kick-off party poolside at the Hard Rock, trying to find a pair of golf shoes. Luckily he and musician Branford Marsalis, who was also on the shoe search, turned up a couple of pairs, courtesy of VH1.

Other celebrities in attendance included Dweezil Zappa, who aced the "best putt" category at Sunday's celebrity skills warm-up, where the stars had a chance to brush up on their skills before the match on Monday. Some players, including "Felicity" star Amy Jo Johnson, had never played golf before and needed a day to cram in some practice.

"Sex and the City's" Mr. Big, Chris Noth, hit his first shot of the day through the trees on the 10th hole, but managed to recoup nicely. He spent his time at the Sunday night pool party looking for a nice lady. He told his publicist to scram because she was hurting his chances of finding someone to flirt with.

Rocker and top-40 hit maker Edwin McCain didn't play very well, mainly because he was in the middle of his Las Vegas bachelor party. McCain was a little fuzzy on the course, having just emerged from a weekend of drinking and carousing with some of his buddies in honor of his impending nuptials. His teammates were less than thrilled.

Monday's tournament was topped off with yet another party at the Hard Rock, this time at the Joint. Players who had worked long and hard on the course were treated to dinner and an awards ceremony. The winners were Stan Frazier of the band Sugar Ray, golf pro Briny Baird, David Moskowitz, Carlos Ross and Kevin Costa. Fairway to Heaven is a fund-raising event, and this year's tournament donation will support VH1 Save the Music, which helps to improve the quality of music programs in America's public schools.

The Backstreet Boys made a surprise appearance at Fairway to Heaven. In town for their concert this past weekend at the MGM Grand, the boys were happy to spend an extra day in town to play a few holes with golf pro Paul Azinger.

The group spent Saturday night after their concert partying at Studio 54, and Sunday was spent resting up for their big day of golf. On Monday night they planned to split up, half the group going to see "O" at the Bellagio, and the others going to see Siegfried and Roy.

Backstreet Boy Brian Littrel's little Chihuahua followed him all around the course at the country club Monday, led by Littrel's girlfriend, but bandmate Kevin Richardson had no time to play. He spent his free time before the match getting a very serious lesson from golf pro Peter Jacobsen.

Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough was a little shy about his golf skills so he was given a practice tee when he needed to shoot for his team. Unfortunately, even that didn't help. His first shot went into one of the luxury homes that line the course. Oops.

The Backstreet Boys always manage to have a trail of pre-teen fans with them wherever they go, and Monday was no exception. Despite the heavy security -- bodyguards in black suits were with them at every hole -- a gaggle of mesmerized girls followed them through all 18 holes.

Wednesday night is the opening of the Markman Gallery, the new fine arts gallery at Paseo de Vida at The Resort at Summerlin. The private reception for about 500 people will honor acclaimed celebrity artist and actor Anthony Quinn, who will exhibit more than 150 pieces from his collection.

The Markman gallery is being opened by Dr. Barry Markman and entrepreneur Roland Katavic. This is the first venture for the two art lovers and the gallery will feature fine art from some of the world's most noted artists, including Homero Aguilar and LeRoy Neiman.