Senior Tour Championship
The Ingersoll-Rand Senior Tour Championship is
played in Myrtle Beach every November. It's the year-end tournament for
the PGA Senior Tour's cream of the crop and an absolute grand finale for
spectators who throng to the Grand Strand during the second week of the
month.
This 72-hole tournament features the top 31 money leaders on the PGA
Senior Tour and the top 16 Super Senior players (age 60 and older) playing
in a simultaneous but separate championship tournament. The largest purse
of any PGA Senior event and the largest combined purse of the super senior
and senior tournaments are up for grabs.
This championship is played at the TPC Myrtle Beach.
Anyone who loves to watch premium golf will go nuts over this
tournament. Set against a sunny backdrop of warm and glorious fall days on
this fine course, spectators can watch the year's accumulation of
champions vie for the top spots. Despite the tournament pressure and the
tough course, players take time out for autographs and conversation and
relax by the Atlantic while the world's television cameras tell their
stories. If you're lucky, you can watch the tournament then shuttle back
to your home or hotel and watch it again on ESPN. (Is that too much, or
what?!) If you're really smart, you'll plan at least part of your vacation
for early November. You can even play 18 holes a day (except at the Dunes
Club, of course) then watch the seniors and super seniors finish their
rounds.
Ticket information is available from the PGA by calling (803) 444-4STC.
Accommodations offering ticket packages are listed in Myrtle Beach Golf
Holiday's Vacation Planner. To obtain a free copy, call (800) 845-GOLF.
Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday is the host organization for the tournament.
DuPont World AmateurHandicap
Championship
Anyone with an established handicap, no matter what
it is, can play in this tournament. And anyone can win it!
The DuPont World Amateur Handicap Championship, the world's largest
amateur golf tournament, is played the last week in August every year. It
will be played for its 17th year in Myrtle Beach in 2000, on more than 50
courses. It's a four-day, 72-hole flighted tournament open to any amateur
with a verified USGA handicap (or foreign equivalent).
The DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware, is the title sponsor of the
tournament, which is owned by Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday.
All types of golfers from all locations compete in the World Am. It
began with 680 golfers and has grown to more than 4,200 players. Many
participants return year after year to renew golfing friendships and play
in a fun tournament. It's a true spectacle when they all bring their
guests and gather in the convention center each evening to view scores and
swap stories. Just the socializing alone, lubricated by a wide variety of
libations, is enough to bring most folks back annually.
Players fly and drive to Myrtle Beach from every state and 20 or more
foreign countries. The greatest number of golfers, of course, play in the
men's division, although senior men and super seniors are loyal to the
tournament, and the number of women increases every year.
Participants have been as old as 86 and as young as 16.
The grand prize is not for the tournament winner, but is a drawing and
is often something super-snazzy, such as a Lincoln luxury automobile. All
entrants are eligible for the drawings, which include thousands of dollars
worth of prizes.
The tournament organizers attempt to weed out carpetbaggers--people who
cheat with their handicap. Such low-life are summoned to the tournament
office each day issued a red card.
For information, call (800) 845-GOLF.
PING Myrtle Beach Junior Classic
The PING Myrtle Beach Junior Classic will be played
for the 12th time in June 2000. It's one of 34 tournaments nationwide
conducted by the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) and is one of the
most popular stops on the tour.
Nearly 500 golfers between the ages of 13 and 18 apply annually, and
106 are selected by the AJGA. Another 14 are selected during the first-day
qualifying round. Participants typically represent at least 17 states.
Myrtlewood Golf Club hosts the 54-hole tournament.
For information on this event, promoted by Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday,
contact tournament chairman George Hilliard at (800) 845-GOLF.
Susan G. Komen
International LPGA
The Susan G. Komen International LPGA was played
for the first time in April of 1997 at the new Wachesaw East and is set to
return here in 2000 as the City of Hope Classic. For information call
(800) 845-GOLF.
