By John Brasier
After watching the PGA Tour play the second of two tournaments at the remote Congaree Golf Club in the South Carolina Lowcountry in October 2022, Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce CEO Karen Riordan said she asked Myrtle Beach’s mega-golf marketing firm, Golf Tourism Solutions, why the Grand Strand, can’t have a Tour stop.
After all, Myrtle Beach has long billed itself as the “Seaside Golf Capital of the World.” At the time, Riordan said she considered it a “provocatiive” question.
Riordan received the succinct and surprising reply, “We can.’”
Such was the catalyst for the creation of the Myrtle Beach Classic, set for May 9-12 at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club. Organizers held a news conference Monday at the club to provide updates on the tournament. South Carolina native Jonathan Byrd (shown above at the course), a five-time winner on the PGA Tour and a likely Dunes Club participant, was the featured guest.
For the co-hosts, the Myrtle Beach Chamber and Golf Tourism Solutions, which markets more than 60 Myrtle Beach area courses, the vision is to “showcase Myrtle Beach golf to the world.” The tournament will have two hours of daily TV coverage split between Golf Channel and Peacock.
SportFive, a global sports marketing agency, is managing the tournament.
Only nine months after announcing its creation, the Myrtle Beach Classic is just 10 weeks from its debut. And the response — local and regional — has been wildly enthusiastic.
It took only six hours for 4,000 people to apply online for 1,500 volunteers positions. Those selected come from 20 states. Tournament director Darrin Nelson noted that hospitality suites on the 18th green are sold out, venues on the fairway and tees at 17 are a “near sellout,” as are shared hospitality venues on the two finishing holes.
Nelson said the 26-team Monday pro-am is sold out, though spots remain for the 52-team Wednesday pro-am. Clubhouse passes are sold out for the first two days. Former PGA Tour player and current TV personality Charlie Rymer, also an S.C. native, will host the pro-am pairings party and handle other duties.
Beginning with this year’s event scheduled the same weekend as the Tour’s higher-profile, limited-field and rich-purse Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club, the future in Myrtle Beach seems bright. With so many uncertainties involving the PGA Tour, its future schedules, its sponsors and the planned major investments of the Strategic Sports Group and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Myrtle Beach’s inaugural five-year deal has potential to grow into something much bigger.
In 2024, PGA Tour fans in the Carolinas have an interesting choice: go to Charlotte to watch the Tour’s biggest stars on a major stage, or head to Myrtle Beach for what shapes up as a weekend in the regional’s biggest tourist destination. For golfers, Myrtle Beach offers the appealing combination of splitting time watching at the seaside Dunes Club with time to access playing at the region’s many great public courses.
Tournament organizers have made fun a priority at the Dunes Club, the gold standard among Grand Strand’s for 75 years. Next week, eight YouTubers will battle eight aspiring PGA Tour pros in the “Q at Myrtle Beach” competition at TPC of Myrtle Beach for an exemption into the field. In April, PlayGolfMyrtleBeach’s YouTube page will show a 90-minute highlight package of the the competition. YouTube stars Wesley Bryan and George Bryan VI are expected — Wesley in the field, and George VI battling in the Q for a spot.
Another exemption will go to the individual winner of the March’s General Hackler Collegiate tournament hosted by Coastal Carolina University.
The pro-am contestants will include North Myrtle Beach native and “Wheel of Fortune” star Vanna White, who will appear at various functions throughout the week. Following rounds on Thursday and Saturday, concerts will be held on the lawn between the clubhouse and the nearby beach.
A field of 132 will play at the Dunes Club for a purse of about $4 million. In Charlotte, between 70-80 are expected to qualify and play for $20 million.
The PGA Tour faces uncertainty in the LIV era. With the spiraling purse costs, Wells Fargo announced it would end its title sponsorship in Charlotte after this year’s tournament. But that was before, Strategic Sports Group announced a $3 billion investment in the Tour.
A high-ranking official with the Myrtle Beach Classic said the Myrtle Beach tournament was expected to have “plenty of options” in the future.
The Senior (Champions) Tour Championship was played before large crowds at The Dunes Club from 1994-1999. The Myrtle Beach Classic will be the area’s first event on the regular PGA Tour.
