John Daly, Anthony Michael Hall, newcomers among early commitments to 2020 Hootie MAM
Fan favorite and two-time major champion John Daly has committed to return to the Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am, and a football player and actor are scheduled to make their event debuts.
Daly will be joined by Tennessee Titans wide receiver Adam Humphries and actor John Ashton at the 26th Hootie MAM on April 13 at the Barefoot Resort Dye Club, where it has been held since moving to the Grand Strand in 2003.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday, are $20 each, and can be purchased at the Barefoot Dye Club or resort courses pro shops, the House of Blues or online through Live Nation/Ticketmaster. Children 12 and under receive free admission with a ticketed adult.
Ashton starred with Eddie Murphy as Detective Sergeant John Taggart in Beverly Hills Cop and Beverly Hills Cop II, and co-starred in Midnight Run as a rival bounty hunter to Robert De Niro’s character.
Humphries is a Spartanburg native who played at Clemson and has 256 career NFL receptions for 2,703 yards and 11 touchdowns in five seasons with the Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Anthony Michael Hall, who starred in National Lampoon’s Vacation, The Breakfast Club and Weird Science, will make his second appearance after debuting in the event last year, and actor/comedian Gary Valentine will return and stay in town an extra day to perform at the Comedy Cabana on April 14.
Other pro golfers who have committed include PGA Tour member Harold Varner III and former tour members Chris DiMarco and Robert Gamez.
The primary list of participating golfers and celebrities will be released on March 16.
Spectator tickets have sold out in each of the past 13 years. Approximately half of the 6,000 adult spectator tickets are available to the general public and the others are disbursed through sponsorship packages.
The 25th Hootie MAM helped the band raise $360,000 last year for its foundation, through which it makes donations to children’s educational programs and junior golf in South Carolina. The total is a combination of fundraising at the MAM and 2019 Hootie at Bulls Bay men’s college golf tournament that the band hosts in March at Bulls Bay Golf Club in Awendaw, with the bulk of the money coming from the Barefoot event.
There are tournament volunteer positions available. Anyone interested can go to http://hootiegolf.com and register under the volunteer tab.
Gimme Golf launched
Golf package provider MyrtleBeachGolfTrips.com, a subsidiary of golf course operator Founders Group International, has launched Gimme Golf, a podcast dedicated to telling the story of the Grand Strand golf community, on and off the course.
Gimme Golf is hosted by Meredith Kirk, an LPGA teaching member and former Mrs. South Carolina America. Kirk takes listeners into every facet of the Myrtle Beach golf community, talking with head professionals, course superintendents and media members during the weekly show, which is available on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, Pandora and Tune-In.
Each episode is also embedded at www.myrtlebeachgolftrips.com/podcasts/.
There are already 13 Gimme Golf episodes available, covering topics ranging from the Strand’s best courses to the decision to overseed during the winter. While the content to date has focused entirely on Myrtle Beach, Kirk will periodically interview guests from outside the area.
Hurricane coming
The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour will be holding three 36-hole tournaments on the Grand Strand this year for boys and girls ages 8-19.
The first is the Coastal Carolina Junior Open at Blackmoor Golf Club on Feb. 29 and March 1, which has a Feb. 19 registration deadline and entry fees of $229 for tour members and $304 for non-members. Tour membership is $299.
The Myrtle Beach Spring Junior Open at Willbrook Plantation is March 28-29 and has entry fees of $219/$294 before Feb. 29 and $259/$334 afterward until the entry deadline of March 18.
The Myrtle Beach National Junior Open at Myrtle Beach National Golf Club’s West Course is Sept. 19-20 and has entry fees of $199/$274 before Aug. 22 and $239/$314 afterward until the entry deadline of Sept. 9.
All three tournaments are recognized by the South Carolina Junior Golf Association, Junior Golf Scoreboard, Global Junior Golf Rankings and Tarheel Youth Golf Association. Visit www.hjgt.org for more information.
This story was originally published February 11, 2020 at 1:31 PM.
