The 37th annual PlayGolfMyrtleBeach.com World Amateur Handicap Championship will be played as scheduled, Aug. 31 – Sept. 4, but the ever-popular event is making changes necessary to ensure a safe environment for players.
More than 2,250 players have already signed up for this year’s tournament, which will again allow golfers the opportunity to compete in a 72-hole, net stroke play event, but the 2020 World Am will be different. Included among the changes for this year’s tournament are:
• The biggest alteration will be the one-year hiatus for the World’s Largest 19th Hole, which usually serves as the event’s social hub, providing players free food, drinks, live entertainment and more each evening.
• To offset the absence of the World’s Largest 19th Hole, tournament organizers have reduced the cost of the event by $100, allowing golfers to enter for just $495.
• All participants will have their own cart for each tournament round.
• There will be no more than 72 golfers at each course (approx. 36 players per flight).
• A tee time window in threesomes will be instituted.
• Range balls will be provided on a complimentary basis and placed on respective ranges to eliminate touch points.
• No spectators will be allowed at any course.
• Golf courses will follow all federal guidelines as determined by the CDC at that time.
• In addition, courses reserve the option to institute additional policies involving the touching of pins, bunker rakes, etc.
“We feel confident we can safely run a golf tournament with players following social distancing recommendations,” said Scott Tomasello, tournament director for Golf Tourism Solutions, the company that operates the event. “However, the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic make it impossible for us to move forward with plans for the World’s Largest 19th Hole in 2020, which is unfortunate, but we still anticipate providing players an unforgettable competitive experience.”
The World Am flights players based on age, gender and handicap and is open to all golfers 17 years of age and older. All flight winners and ties advance to the World Championship Playoff, an 18-hole shootout to determine the tournament champion.
The World Am flights players into nine divisions – men 49 and under, senior men (50-59), mid-senior men (60-69), super senior men (70-79), seasoned seniors (80+), women, the gross division, senior (50+) gross division. There is also a “Just For Fun” flight, created for players who want to enjoy the World Am experience without the pressure of competition.
While thousands of players will participate in the event, they will be dispersed onto upwards of 35 golf courses each day, allowing the event to maintain a safe environment in the “Golf Capital of the World.”
In addition to four rounds of golf, players will also receive a gift bag that includes a polo, a pullover, a golf towel, a logo’d hat, a PGA Tour Superstore gift card and an assortment of other goodies valued cumulatively at $250.
The World’s Largest 19th Hole, which typically takes up all 120,000 square feet of the Myrtle Beach Convention, is typically the event’s social, providing players free food, drink and live entertainment.
For more information, visit www.MyrtleBeachWorldAmateur.com.
