THE Couples Resorts Jamaica Sixth Annual Negril Charity Golf Tournament takes place today at the Negril Hills Golf Club with a shotgun start at 9:00 am.

The two-man scramble format will have registration an hour before the shotgun start and donation is $6,500 (US$75) and it includes green fees, caddy, cart, goody bag, continental breakfast, lunch and awards ceremony.

All proceeds will benefit the Clifton Boys Home in Darliston, Westmoreland.

Last year the team of Glen Lawrence and John Brennan carded net score of 63 to win the event.

Lawrence, the CEO of Couples Resorts, and Brennan beat the pair of Randy Russell and Stainton Baker by one shot, as approximately $1 million was raised for both the Clifton Boys Home and the Mt Airy Basic School.

The concept for the event started in Ocho Rios some years ago when a few repeat guests approached the hotel with the idea for the charity tournament to help the less fortunate.

"Years later we decided to replicate it by taking it to Negril to support the Westmoreland charities and we selected two worthy ones, the Mt Airy Basic school and Clifton Boys Home and we have been doing between renovations, computers and computer labs, kitchen upgrades and playgrounds for the kids and so we have been doing quite a bit, we have practically adopted them," Lawrence told the Jamaica Observer last year.

"The golf tournament focuses our attention at this time and we get quite a bit of help from our many sponsors," he said. "The golfers all play in good spirits but it is all about giving back and 100 per cent of the monies raised go right back to the charities," Lawrence added.

The top-five pairs received awards last year, while there were also prizes for other sections including closest to the pin.

A number of the awards, including the first and second prizes which were nights at Couples hotels were auctioned and the money added to the total raised.

A BlackBerry Torch smart phone donated by Digicel was also raffled.

Digicel, Columbus Business Solutions and CPJ are also sponsors of the event.