The 26th annual PGA TOUR Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship teed off this morning at 32 Myrtle Beach area golf courses. More than 3,000 golfers from 49 states and 25 foreign countries came to the Grand Strand to compete in an event that has become known as the “Every Man’s Major.”
The World Am is a 72-hole tournament that is open to all golfers – young and old, male and female – with a verifiable handicap. Players are separated by age and gender – there are six different divisions – and placed in tightly grouped flights based on the game’s most comprehensive and accurate handicap system.
Each flight, which includes approximately 48 players, plays a different Myrtle Beach area course everyday and after four rounds, all flight winners and ties advance to the World Championship Playoff on Friday at the famed Dunes Golf & Beach Club.
Thanks to its handicap system, the World Am provides players the opportunity to compete on a level playing field, something the list of past world champions bares out. Players with handicaps as low as two and has high as 34 have hoisted the trophy at the Dunes Club. Last year’s champion, Paula Morton, who delivered the most dramatic shot in tournament history, chipping in from 60 yards away to win by a stroke, will be back to defend her crown.
Part of the attraction for players is the quality of courses that host the event. A total of 51 Myrtle Beach golf courses will host at least one round, including six of Golf Digest’s “100 Greatest Public Courses.” Among the Top 100 layouts hosting tournament rounds are Heritage Club, Fazio Course at Barefoot Resort, Dye Club at Barefoot Resort, Tidewater Golf Club, Grande Dunes Resort Course and Caledonia Golf & Fish Club.
Thirty-four of the 51 host courses earned at least 4 stars in Golf Digest’s prestigious “Best Place to Play Guide” as well.
While competition is an integral component of the event, it’s far from the only attraction. Each night players gather at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center to enjoy the World’s Largest 19th Hole, the event’s social hub. The World’s Largest 19th Hole provides three hours of free food from some of the area’s finest restaurants, free top shelf drinks, live entertainment and a golf expo that features instructional clinics from some of the game’s leading names.
To follow all of the tournament action, checkout the World Am Blog, which will feature photos, videos and stories.
When will the tournament be played in 2010????? Can I get some info so perhaps I can play in it???