The World Am offers a VIP upgrade, and Myrtle Beach adds an elite amateur golf event
The PlayGolfMyrtleBeach.com World Amateur Handicap Championship is stepping it up a notch in 2021.
The tournament operated by the Golf Tourism Solutions marketing and technology agency that promotes the Myrtle Beach market is adding a VIP Lounge to the nightly World’s Largest 19th Hole expo and cocktail party.
The Blade & Bow Lounge, which will be open at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center following the first four tournament rounds, will be limited to 250 people at a cost of $249 per person.
In addition to enjoying the customary complimentary food and drinks, live entertainment and celebrity guests at the 19th Hole, VIP members will enjoy: a premium food station, premium desserts, craft beer bar, specialty cocktail bar, massages, lounge-style seating and TVs, lessons with a PGA professional in a simulator, an arcade, and a Sweet Rollz putter grip.
The lounge will take the convention center space that previously held a par-3 contest.
“We had been thinking about it and this was the best year to implement it for a number of reasons,” said Scott Tomasello, tournament director for GTS and the World Am. “We certainly wouldn’t have done it if we didn’t feel like it was a popular concept. Our surveys indicated that a decent amount of people would be interested in something like this.
“It should be a cool experience for those that want to take it to the next level.”
Blade and Bow includes the Stitzel-Weller Distillery, Blade and Bow Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and Blade and Bow 22-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.
Encouraged by the coronavirus pandemic, World Am organizers are creating an outdoor area at the convention center courtyard that will feature entertainment, a beer wagon, food truck and yard games.
“To the COVID point, we’re trying to expand the space we have at our fingertips,” Tomasello said.
The World Am will be played August 30-Sept. 3 on 55 Myrtle Beach area courses and already has more than 3,400 registrants.
Entry into the 72-hole tournament is $619 through July 8 and increases to $679 thereafter, and the cost includes a gift bag.
The World Am will feature two new women’s divisions this year: a women’s gross division and new women’s age groups of under 60 and 60 and over.
Calling all competitive amateurs
Golf Tourism Solutions and AmateurGolf.com have teamed up to give Myrtle Beach another tournament aimed at elite amateurs.
The inaugural 54-hole AmateurGolf.com Myrtle Beach Challenge is scheduled for Sept. 9-11 at the challenging Prestwick Country Club.
The 120-player tournament is for men and women with USGA handicap indexes of 5.0 or better and will likely have open (for players 15 and older) and mid-amateur (25-plus) divisions. Men will play a course set up at approximately 6,900 yards and women will play approximately 5,800 yards.
The tournament is sanctioned by the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
GTS works closely with AmateurGolf.com to promote the World Am.
“They are kind of the one-stop shop for the high-level amateur golfer to find places to play, so we teamed up to create something together,” Tomasello said.
GTS holds about a dozen tournaments per year and there are now two specifically for elite amateurs.
The Golfweek Myrtle Beach Amateur was held two weeks ago for the second year at Barefoot Resort’s Dye Club. The tournament was exclusively a tournament for college golfers last summer after the 2020 college spring golf season was cut short but was opened up to other top amateurs this year.
“This is something we want to dive a little more into as we continue to expand event offerings,” Tomasello said. “This was our second year doing [the Golfweek tournament] at the Dye Club and it went well so we think we can expand upon it with some other events like that.
“A lot of the college kids are looking for places to play, especially the competitive ones who may not have a place to play that are kind of in that in-between zone so this would be a good spot for them. . . . And I know there are a lot of locals and people in the Carolinas looking for that type of event, so why not?”
The Myrtle Beach Challenge entry fee is $275 per person. Players can register online through PlayGolfMyrtleBeach.com. Practice rounds for $50 are available by calling Prestwick’s pro shop at 843-293-4100.
Proceeds will benefit the nonprofit Project Golf growth of the game initiative based in Myrtle Beach.
Myrtle Beach golf tournaments have been popular this year as golfers return from limited travel during the pandemic.
The Short Par 4 Fall Classic on 15 courses in November is at nearly 300 players after just a couple weeks of registration, so the cap of 500 is likely to be met shortly.
