WorldAm Championships Unveils Programming for 2010 Event
Representatives from Sports Illustrated Golf Group and Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday unveiled plans on Tuesday at a press conference at Pine Lakes Country Club for the 27th annual GOLF.com World Amateur Handicap Championship. The annual event will include an appearance by Golf Magazine columnist and network golf analyst David Feherty, involvement of the Sports Illustrated Golf Group editorial staff and the support of sponsors including Gosling’s Rum, Negra Modelo, Callaway Golf, PGA Tour Superstore and GolfTEC.
The 27th annual GOLF.com World Amateur Handicap Championship will be held August 30 through September 3 as more than 3,000 amateur golfers are expected to converge on more than 50 Myrtle Beach area golf courses to compete for the right to be world champion.
In their first year of title sponsorship, the Sports Illustrated Golf Group is sending numerous writers from their illustrious editorial staff to participate in parts of the tournament and programming at the “World’s Largest 19th Hole” at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. The tournament will also be highlighted on the sport’s No. 1 Web site, GOLF.com. The SI Golf Group writers and editors will participate in a main-stage, round table discussion at the 19th Hole entitled, “PGA Tour Confidential” on Wednesday, September 2. David Feherty will appear at the 19th Hole on the evening of Thursday, September 3. Feherty participated in the press conference via phone from his home in Dallas, Texas.
“Having the Sports Illustrated Golf Group and GOLF.com present for this global golf event validates again that the World Am is truly a big time event,” said Dave Macpherson, tournament director of the 27th annual GOLF.com World Amateur Handicap Championship. “We are excited to experience the new elements that our partners at GOLF.com will bring to this year’s event. The fun and interactive elements will allow the tournament to continue to grow and will provide additional excitement for the golfers of all levels.”
For Sports Illustrated, the presence in Myrtle Beach is a homecoming. In 1954 Time Inc. executives planned the concept of a national sports weekly magazine during a company outing at the club. Today, Pine Lakes commemorates the birthplace of SI with a plaque, pictures and articles inside the club. On Wednesday, September 1, the Sports Illustrated Golf Group will host a private dinner marking SI’s history and heritage, which stem from Myrtle Beach.
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 Web site in the sport.
“The sponsors lined up for this year’s tournament are going to be present both on the courses and at the ‘World’s Largest 19th hole,’” said Dick Raskopf, Sports Illustrated Golf Group Publisher. “Reaching everyday golfers is at the heart of what we do at the SI Golf Group and we’re excited to meet the thousands of golfers at the World Am.”
As a result of an integrated marketing and sales partnership with Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, tournament sponsors include Gosling’s Rum, Negra Modelo, Callaway, GolfTEC and PGA Tour Superstore. Gosling’s Rum “Dark & Stormy” will be the official cocktail for the 19th Hole, which will also highlight Negra Modelo beer. GolfTEC will provide free fittings and swing analysis and every golfer in the tournament will receive Callaway golf balls.
The World’s Largest 19th Hole is held every night at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center after each day of competition and features an extensive golf exposition, equipment demos, entertainment, open bars, concerts, prize drawings and food from some of Myrtle Beach’s finest restaurants.
Hosted by Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, the GOLF.com World Amateur Handicap Championship is a 72-hole tournament. Players are flighted according to their handicap and at the conclusion of the four rounds, flight winners advance to the 18-hole world championship playoff at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club.
The World Am features six competitive divisions, ranging from men and women 49 years-of-age and under to the super seniors 70 years-of-age and older. The event’s inclusiveness is apparent in its past champions. Golfers with handicaps as low as three and as high as 34 have won the World Championship. A woman has won the last three titles including 2009 winner Linda Fuller from Richmond, Texas.
The more than 50 Grand Strand 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, True Blue Golf Plantation, Grande Dunes, TPC Myrtle Beach and all three courses at Myrtle Beach National.
For more information about the 27th annual GOLF.com World Amateur Handicap Championship, call (800) 833-8798 or visit WorldAmGolf.com or facebook.com/WorldAm.
PHOTO: Sports Illustrated Golf Group and Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday announced programming and sponsors on Tuesday for the 27th annual GOLF.com World Amateur Handicap Championship. Pictured from left to right: Dave Macpherson, tournament director; Jim Herre, managing editor, Sports Illustrated Golf Group; Bill Golden, president, Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday and Dick Raskopf, publisher, Sports Illustrated Golf Group.
Kudos! What a neat way of thikning about it.