The Great One is hoping he will make the cut.

Wayne Gretzky was at the Georgian Bay Golf Club in The Blue Mountains on Wednesday afternoon promoting the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic Nationwide Tour event, taking place from June 23-29.

The Georgian Bay Club and the Raven Golf Club at Lora Bay, also in The Blue Mountains, will host the event.

Gretzky will headline a celebrity pro-am event that will run concurrently with the Nationwide tournament.

"We are really excited about this event," Gretzky said during a press conference Wednesday morning. "It's an opportunity for the community to really enjoy themselves that week," he said.

As for his own participation in the event, Gretzky said he hopes to play well enough to make the cut and play on the weekend.

"I'm not a good golfer. Like everything else you have to practice - although that probably wouldn't help me," he joked. "I have to make the cut. I asked: 'Do I get in?' and they said: 'no'," he said drawing laughter from the large crowd at the press conference.

The Great One - with his 18 handicap - will have plenty of competition on the golf course that week. The list of celebrity players reads like a who's who of hockey. Darcy Tucker, Cassie Campbell, Brett Hull, Paul Coffey, Doug Gilmour, Mark Messier and many more will join Gretzky.

Professional football players John Elway and Trent Edwards will also participate.

In addition to the star power from other sports and show business, the tournament is a full Nationwide Tour stop. The Nationwide Tour is owned and operated by the PGA Tour. It is the proving ground of the PGA Tour.

Nationwide alumni have won more than 200 PGA Tour events. At the end of the season the top 25 finishers on the Nationwide Tour earn PGA Tour exemptions.

The Wayne Gretzky Foundation will be a major beneficiary of the event. Gretzky's foundation raises money to help kids across North America play hockey.

"The charity is something we're very proud of. As my Dad always says: if kids get the opportunity to play hockey it keeps them out of trouble," said Gretzky. "We're thrilled the community has rallied around this event," he said.

Gretzky - the National Hockey League's all-time leading scorer - said he played in a celebrity event at a Nationwide Tour event in Carolina with members of his family. His experiences at that event made him want to get more involved.

"We had a great deal of fun as a family," he said, adding that he enjoyed being involved with the Nationwide Tour players pushing themselves to reach the next level. "They have the same aspirations as many of the kids playing in the AHL (American Hockey League). I had two brothers struggle in the minor leagues. At the end of the day we often hear about Crosby, Tiger or Kobe, but a lot of guys struggle just as hard and don't make it to the top," he said.

Gretzky, now the coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, played in countless high pressure/profile games in the NHL and international competition during his career will still be nervous when he tees it up in front of the spectators who will attend the event.

"It will be nerve-wracking. There's nothing worse than a three-foot putt in front of a hundred people," he said.