GREENVILLE — Easley’s Jimmy Stathos had never experienced the BMW Charity Pro-Am Golf Tournament, so he decided to spend Thursday morning and afternoon at Thornblade Club in Greenville soaking it all in.

Was it the lure of seeing the stars of tomorrow competing on the Nationwide Tour?

Maybe he simply wanted to sneak away from work and get some exercise strolling through the pristine course.

Nah.

He just wanted to see Cheech Marin.

The BMW Charity Pro-Am is one of the richest on the Nationwide Tour, with a $675,000 purse. But one of its biggest draws is the integration of celebrities into the field, which this year features the likes of Joe Pesci, Kurt Russell, Greg Kinnear and Wayne Gretzky.

By the end of the weekend, all of the celebrities will have spent time at Thornblade, Carolina Country Club in Spartanburg and Bright’s Creek Golf Club in Mill Spring, N.C. But Marin received top billing Thursday at Thornblade, and Stathos followed him every step of the way.

“He’s the reason I came out, and I’m glad I did,” said Stathos, who had a chance to talk to Marin and have his photo taken with the man who, along with Tommy Chong, made the comedy team of “Cheech and Chong” counterculture icons in the 1970s.

After a series of movies with his former comedy partner, Marin went on to mainstream roles in films such as the golf-themed “Tin Cup” and the television series “Nash Bridges.”

“He was great. He would just sit there and shake hands and talk to people. He had a lot of personality,” Stathos said. “I’ve been a fan of his for a long time. ‘Up In Smoke,’ all the comedy albums — I followed him back in the early days.”

On the Nationwide Tour, the event is the only one of its kind, where amateurs and celebrities are grouped with Tour regulars in a three-day, better-ball competition. On Thursday, Marin played with Nationwide pros B.J. Staten and David Morland and amateur Hilarie Roth.

Today Marin moves to the Carolina Club while Thornblade will play host to Gretzky, Russell and Sterling Sharpe, among others.

Still, some fans came for both golf and stargazing.

“I think it’s kind of neat to see the celebrities out here, but you also see some really good golfers,” said Greenville’s Brian Young, who is attending his third BMW Charity Pro-Am Golf Tournament. “Sometimes it’s good to watch the pros and see how it’s done.”

Bill Wallace, also of Greenville, has played the Thornblade Course before, but Thursday was the first time he has watched a Nationwide Tour event in the Upstate.

“For me, it’s just a chance to come out and see some golf,” he said. “That’s the part I enjoy.”

The final round of the event is set for Sunday at the Thornblade Club, with the winner earning $121,500 and a BMW X5 Sports Activity Vehicle.

The 14 lowest-scoring pro-am teams and 60 lowest-scoring Nationwide pros will advance.

South Carolina Charities is the host organization of the tournament and will distribute 100 percent of the proceeds from general admission tickets to the various charities selected in 2008. In the previous seven years of the tourney, close to $6 million has been raised for more than 80 charities.