Two Maine residents who are celebrities from different walks of life were participants last Monday in the 20th annual Camp Sunshine Golf Tournament at Point Sebago in Casco.

Boston Celtics center Dave Cowens and four-star Air Force general Bill Begert have seen a lot of the world and both have chosen to make Maine their residence.

Cowens, 65, plays golf once or twice a week. He was in the Camp Sunshine Tournament as part of a Norway Savings Bank foursome. He works for the bank, doing public relations and marketing. You may have seen his Norway Saving Bank commercial on television. While he has another home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Cowens has owned his Raymond home since 1983 and his daughter is an employee of the Raymond School System.

Always quick with a one-liner, Cowens said after his group completed its scramble round: “My foursome said they wanted the guy who was in my spot last year — when they won this tournament.”

Cowens, the center on two NBA championship teams for the Celtics, has no delusions of grandeur when it comes to golf. He enjoys hitting the little white ball, no matter where it goes.

“I come here to practice,” he said of Point Sebago, discretely declining to assess what his practice sessions do for his golf game.

Begert, who was born in Lewiston and graduated from Lewiston High School in 1964, is taking golf seriously in retirement.

“We live on Sabbathday Lake in New Gloucester May 1 to Dec. 1 in a house we bought in 1978,” he said. “I recorded 161 rounds in 2013, and I am on track for 200 rounds this year.”

He will spend the months of December through April in Santa Barbara, Calif., where the daily weather is perfect for a man determined to play 200 rounds in one year. He said he played approximately 100 rounds in Maine last year, mostly at Poland Spring.

Begert, who does public speaking in retirement, was an Air Force pilot during the Vietnam War and was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross with an Oak Leaf Cluster, the Legion of Merit with an Oak Leaf Cluster and the Air Medal with 11 Oak Leaf Clusters. When he retired in 2004, Begert was commander of Pacific Air Forces.

Cowens was playing in the Camp Sunshine Tournament for the first time, and Begert for a second time. Both were impressed with how well it was run and its cause. Camp Sunshine is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year as it conducts weekly sessions for children with critical illnesses and their families.

Adjustments for the weather

It is no secret that the winter of 2013-2014 has taken its toll on golf courses in Maine. For that reason, the Maine State Golf Association has had to make adjustments in its tournament scheduling. For instance, the annual Senior Four-Ball scheduled for Tuesday at Poland Spring has been moved to Waterville because of “adverse course conditions” at Poland Spring. In addition, the Maine Amateur Qualifier on the calendar for June 24 at Brunswick has been rescheduled for Martindale, “due to an unseasonably cold winter and adverse course conditions” at Brunswick. The MSGA also has a State Amateur Qualifier on Thursday at Biddeford-Saco, and its regular weekly event Friday and Saturday at Naples … The 15th annual Shawn Walsh Memorial Golf Classic is scheduled for a 9:30 a.m. shotgun start July 21 at Martindale. Walsh is a former University of Maine hockey coach.

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