Lagasse hosts 7th JWU golf tournament

NEWPORT, R.I. (WPRI) - Bam! Fall River native Emeril Lagasse, who made good as a culinary TV star, has returned to Southern New England to host the 7th annual golf tournament benefiting student scholarships at Johnson and Wales University.

More than 100 duffers joined the celebrity chef for a round of 18 holes at Newport Country Club Tuesday morning. Many represented national corporate sponsors. The tournament benefits the Emeril Lagasse Endowed Scholarship Fund at the university.

The university says in a news release four undergrad students will each get $10,000 this year toward their culinary arts education at JWU. The fund has gotten nearly $3 million from the tournaments since the first seven years ago.

Lagasse graduated from JWU in 1978. Among Lagasse's accomplishments are several cookbooks, hosting duties on "Emeril Green" on the Planet Green network, the Food Network's "Essence of Emeril" and "Emeril Live!" previously, and ten restaurants to his name.