Dustin Johnson involved in creation of international junior tournament at TPC Myrtle Beach

Dustin Johnson is putting his name on and backing a new international junior golf tournament at TPC Myrtle Beach that organizers hope will become one of the world’s most prestigious events of its kind.

The inaugural Dustin Johnson World Junior Golf Championship will be played next Feb. 13-15, and the 54-hole event is expected to have an international field of 90 boys and girls ages 13-18.

The tournament is being announced at a press conference Friday in Shanghai, China, where Johnson is playing in the PGA Tour’s World Golf Championships – HSBC Champions tournament.

It is being supported by TPC owner and operator Founders Group International, which has Chinese investors, the Dustin Johnson Golf School at the TPC and marketing cooperative Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, which will assist with the promotion and operation of the tournament.

The Landmark Media International public relations firm has been retained to promote the tournament.

“It will continue to grow, the quality of the field will continue to grow and the awareness of the event will continue to grow,” Golf Holiday president Bill Golden said. “We’ve got the right players involved with Founders Group and their connections throughout China and Dustin and the foundation. The building blocks are there to create a sustainable world-class junior golf event.”

It is scheduled to remain on Presidents’ Day weekend, with rounds on Saturday, Sunday and Monday each year.

The dates in 2016 fall the week after the prestigious Junior Heritage at Sea Pines Resort in Hilton Head Island.

“It’s really about identifying an elite international junior golf field to come to Myrtle Beach every year and have not only a world class field but a world class tournament experience,” Golden said.

The event will include a welcome dinner for participants and their families at Pawleys Plantation, live scoreboards will be placed throughout the property, and players will have names on their lockers and name placards on the range.

Approximately half of the field will be from the U.S. and half from other countries. There are eligibility criteria, with several categories requiring high rankings or high finishes in state and national events, and up to 36 spots may be filled through international qualifiers, including some in China.

A tournament selection committee can add five players and sponsors may add three.

The top 20 players in both the South Carolina Junior Golf Association and Tarheel Youth Golf Association rankings are included in the criteria to ensure the Carolinas will be well-represented in the field, and a qualifier for Grand Strand residents is also planned.

“There’s enough talent in the area that we’ll qualify somebody that deserves to be there,” Golden said.

When Johnson, a Coastal Carolina alumnus, created the charitable Dustin Johnson Foundation in 2010 he said one of his priorities would be junior golf. The foundation has already given more than $250,000 to junior golf, according to a release, through the sponsorship of numerous events throughout S.C. and assistance with entry fees.

The tournament, which will have its own Twitter and Instagram accounts, will help Johnson and Allen Terrell, the director of instruction at the Johnson golf school, promote the school internationally. It also gives Golf Holiday a topic to discuss with international golf federations.

The TPC Myrtle Beach was built with the intention of hosting significant tournaments, and hosted the 2000 Senior Tour Championship and Coastal Carolina’s General Hackler Championship for more than a decade.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Dustin Johnson, one of the world's best players, to launch the game's next great junior event,” said Founders Group International president Nick Dou. “TPC Myrtle Beach, a top 100 caliber course, is an ideal host and will help us provide the best tournament experience in junior golf. We are looking forward to bringing golf's next generation of stars to Myrtle Beach.”

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 1:00 AM with the headline "Dustin Johnson involved in creation of international junior tournament at TPC Myrtle Beach."