THE 28TH ANNUAL GOLF.COM WORLD AMATEUR HANDICAP CHAMPIONSHIP TEES OFF IN MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.
More Than 3,000 Golfers from 47 States and 24 Countries Competing for the Title of World Amateur Golf Champion
August 29, 2011, Myrtle Beach, S.C. – The 28th annual GOLF.com World Amateur Handicap Championship, the world’s largest single-site golf tournament, teed off on more than 60 Myrtle Beach area golf courses under sunny skies and warm temperatures on Monday. More than 3,000 amateur golfers from 47 states and 24 countries are participating in the tournament that will determine the “World Amateur Golf Champion.”
Defending champion Bobby Perkinson of Alcoa, Tenn. returned to Myrtle Beach in an attempt to become the first person to win the World Am in consecutive years. There has never been a two-time champion in the history of the event.
“We could not have asked for a better first day of competition,” said Dave Macpherson, tournament director of the GOLF.com World Amateur Handicap Championship. “The weather was perfect and golf course conditions throughout the entire Myrtle Beach area are the best we have seen in years. This is shaping up to be an exciting week of golf and we look forward to crowning our next World Am champion on Friday.”
The Myrtle Beach area recovered well from the fringe affects of hurricane Irene on Friday and early Saturday morning as every golf course hosting rounds during the World Am was ready to go for the first round of competition this morning.
Following the first day of competition, players and guests attended the “World’s Largest 19th Hole” at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. The 19th Hole features an extensive golf exposition, equipment demos, entertainment, open bars, concerts, prize drawings and food from some of Myrtle Beach’s finest restaurants. Later this week, featured appearances include GOLF magazinecontributor and network golf analyst David Feherty, the “Voice of Golf” Peter Kessler and short game guru Dave Pelz.
This is the second year the Sports Illustrated Golf Group has participated as the title sponsor for the event. The SI Golf Group is a unit within the Sports Illustrated Group. It is the No. 1 media company in golf with a combined audience of 12.6 million avid golfers and fans. GOLF.com is the digital engine of the group and is the most visited website in the sport.
Hosted by Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, the GOLF.com World Amateur Handicap Championship is a 72-hole, net stroke play tournament. Players are arranged into flights according to their handicap and at the conclusion of the four rounds, flight winners advance to the 18-hole world championship playoff on Friday, September 3.
The World Am features five competitive divisions and 66 flights, ranging from men and women 49 years-of-age and under to the super seniors 70 years-of-age and older. Players with handicaps as low as three and as high as 34 have won the GOLF.com World Amateur Handicap Championship and a woman has won three of the last four titles.
The more than 60 Myrtle Beach area golf courses comprising this year’s World Am are some of the finest in the area including all four Barefoot Resort & Golf courses, Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, Tidewater Golf Plantation, Pines Lakes CC, Grande Dunes, TPC Myrtle Beach and all three courses at Myrtle Beach National.
For more information on the event, call 1-800-833-8798 or visit www.WorldAmGolf.com.
About the SI Golf Group
GOLF Magazine is at the core of the most powerful media company in the game, the SI Golf Group. The magazine, which delivers a circulation of 1.4 million golf enthusiasts with a readership of 6.1 Million, us golf’s most widely read publication and provides the best instruction, equipment reviews and travel coverage in the category. With the combined resources of GOLF, SI Golf Plus (the No. 1 golf weekly publication) and GOLF.com (the highest trafficked golf website). The SI Golf Group delivers a monthly audience of 12.6 million avid golfers and fans.
About Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday
Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday is a non-profit trade association comprised of 79 championship golf courses, 99 golf package providers and five golf schools in the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area. Founded in 1967, the organization has been and continues to be the driving force behind the growth of the Myrtle Beach area golf market. The originator of the “Stay and Play Package,” Golf Holiday provides non-biased information about the area accommodations and golf courses to assist golfers in making the most informed decisions when planning for their next vacation. Golf Holiday also hosts seven events and tournaments annually to help grow the game of golf and attract golfers to the Grand Strand. In addition to hosting the Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After The Masters Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament each spring, Golf Holiday also manages the GOLF.com World Amateur Handicap Championship – the world's largest single-site amateur golf tournament, the Summer Family Golf Tournaments, the Palmetto High School Golf Championships, the Veterans Golf Classic and the FDNY 9-11 Memorial Golf Outing. For more information, call Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday at 1-800-845-4653 or visit www.GolfHoliday.com.