Myrtle Beach snags PGA tour event through 2027, expected to bring millions in revenue to SC
Myrtle Beach its landing its first PGA Tour event through the 2027 season as part of the FedEx Cup, a move that will bring some of the sport’s biggest names and millions more in economic impact to the Grand Strand.
The Myrtle Beach Classic will be added to the FedEx Cup starting in 2024, with 300 points for the winner and a $3.9 million purse. Exact dates will be released later in the year, as will information on how to purchase tickets.
Officials announced terms of the deal May 10 at the acclaimed Dunes Golf and Beach Club, which has played host to the U.S. Women’s Open, PGA Tour Q-School finals and the senior tour championships.
“I can guarantee you the best of the best PGA Tour players. You’re going to get a lot of household names, you’re going to get a lot of Cinderella stories. It’s going to be a very intense competition,” PGA Tour vice president Kelly Jensen said.
With more than 80 courses stretched across the Grand Strand, Jensen said the Dunes’ reputation, proximity to major shopping and tourism destinations and existing infrastructure made it the best option for PGA level play.
“When we look at host facilities, number one is the golf course. But once you get beyond the competition, it’s all the things that go around it,” Jensen said.
Rumblings about the possibility of a marriage between the PGA and Myrtle Beach started in February, when Duane Parrish, director of the state parks and tourism agency, asked lawmakers for a one-time $3 million boost in his budget, with $800,000 going toward securing the PGA tournamenet.
Visit Myrtle Beach, marketing arm of the Myrtle Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, is serving as the event’s title sponsor.
“This is a dream that we’ve had for many years,” Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Karen Riordan said. “We see the Myrtle Beach Classic as a great opportunity to show the world what an incredible destination we have.”
Since opening in the spring of 1948, the Dunes has grown into one golf’s most storied courses.
Club president Collins Wakefield said several holes will be lengthened to meet PGA Tour requirements, but its famed 13th hole, the 590-yard par five Waterloo, won’t be altered.
“All the tee boxes are being leveled, the short game area will be enhanced, the putting greens will be enlarged,” he said.
The partnership comes at a time when golf’s popularity has never been higher in South Carolina.
A recent state-sanctioned analysis found golf had a $3.3 billion economic impact in 2021, contributing more than $378 million in federal, state and local tax revenues.
Parrish said the state saw a 22% uptick in business taxes collected through golf between 2021 and last year.
“Since COVID, golf has back like it hasn’t since Tiger Woods burst onto the scene,” Parrish said May 10. “We certainly want to take advantage of it. This is a chance to strike while the iron is hot.”
South Carolina’s other other PGA event, the RBC Heritage on Hilton Head Island, creates roughly $100 million in economic impact, Parrish said.
Nearly every PGA tour event is set up as a non-profit organization to maximize charitable giving, and Jensen said at least $225,000 will be donated to area charities from the Myrtle Beach Classic.
This story was originally published May 10, 2023 at 9:12 AM.