Super Bowl champions, future Hall of Famers and NFL stars past and present will descend on the Island this week for the Bermuda Golf Classic.

The first year of what organisers hope will become a big annual event includes the likes of Fred Taylor, the former Jacksonville Jaguars running back, Duane Starks, who won Super Bowl XXXV with the Baltimore Ravens, and Chris Mohr who played in the World Championship game three times with the Buffalo Bills.

In total, nearly 30 players will take part in the Pro-Am on Friday and the tournament itself on Saturday at Port Royal Golf Course.

Starks had already heard a lot about the Island through his friendship with Katura Horton-Perinchief, the former Olympic diver, and when he heard about the event he “got right on board.”

“I’ve been hearing so much about Bermuda itself, being such a beautiful place,” Starks said.

“Katura [Horton-Perinchief] always tells me and my wife about it.

“It [the Classic] was a great fit for me because I’m one of the guys that put together a lot of former players in a group called “Golfing with Pro-Athletes” here in Miami, and we go out every week to play and this is something I feel like I can get some of the guys involved in doing.”

Taylor, who had a Hall of Fame career in Florida, and Lito Shepherd, the former Philadelphia Eagles cornerback, are just two of the players that Starks has brought into a tournament he expects to become “a great annual event.”

Others involved include Ryan Lindley, the Arizona Cardinals quarterback, and wide receiver Devon Wiley, who is on the practice squad with the St Louis Rams.

Organisers expected the first year to be a slightly more low-key affair, but Starks believes the event will only continue to grow and that the natural competitiveness of professional athletes will make the tournament a fun one to watch.

Starks, however, who has a 14 handicap, does not expect to be challenging the tournament leaders.

“I’m a pretty decent player, but not the best, it’s going to get competitive whatever happens,” he said.