Area Golf News

Inaugural Know Your Score Event Raises $45,000 for Prostate Cancer

September 24, 2008, Myrtle Beach, S.C. – Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday announced today that $45,000 was raised during the inaugural Know Your Score: Fight Prostate Cancer Celebrity Golf Tournament and PGA TOUR Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship 25th Anniversary Gala on August 23, 2008. All proceeds will benefit the Know Your Score: Fight Prostate Cancer and Zero – the Project to End Prostate Cancer campaigns.

Honorary chairperson Ken Griffey, Sr. was on hand for both the August 23rd golf tournament and the gala where he was joined by entertainment personalities and former professional athletes that included Henry Cho, a nationally-known comedian who has appeared on the Comedy Channel and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and XM Radio’s “Laugh USA”; Bobby Cremins, current College of Charleston head basketball coach who also led the Georgia Tech program for 19 years; 17-year Major League Baseball veteran and former Cincinnati Red “Big Red Machine” outfielder George Foster; TNT’s Emmy-Award-wining golf reporter Jim Huber; Sam Jones, one of the key members of the 1950s and 1960s Boston Celtics that won 10 NBA Championships during his 12 years; Hal King, a member of the Cincinnati Reds’ 1973 Western Division-winning squad; ESPN billiards commentator and prostate cancer survivor Mitch Laurance; Ewa Mataya Laurance, current World Trick Shot champion and World 9-Ball champion; Wes Matthews, a member of the 1986 and 1987 Los Angeles Lakers World Championship teams and Tony Womack, a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 2001 World Championship squad.

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The special day began with an 18-hole celebrity golf tournament at The Long Bay Club in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. Each participant had the opportunity to play golf with a prostate cancer survivor or with one of the celebrities who traveled to the Grand Strand that weekend for the sole purpose of helping raise money for prostate cancer.

After golf, participants headed to Kingston Plantation in North Myrtle Beach for the PGA TOUR Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship 25th Anniversary Gala, which was held in honor of the silver anniversary of the “World’s Largest Amateur Golf Tournament” and had the opportunity to bid on sports memorabilia during the silent auction.

In addition to the golf tournament and gala, ZERO – The Project To End Prostate Cancer and Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday hosted the ZERO's Drive Against Prostate Cancer Mobile Screening Clinic in Myrtle Beach August 24th, 25th and 26th with free prostate cancer screening offered to all men. Launched in 2002, ZERO's Drive Against Prostate Cancer Mobile Screening Clinic has made stops in more than 250 cities and has tested more than 65,000 men in six years. Now averaging 20,000 free screens per year through the mobile clinic, the same prostate cancer screen would cost approximately $200 if tested in a doctor’s office. This was the screening van’s second visit to the Myrtle Beach area and 534 men showed up to be tested for prostate cancer. During the van’s first visit to Myrtle Beach on April 15th, more than 200 men were tested and three unknown cases of prostate cancer were discovered.

In April, Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday teamed up with Zero – the Project to End Prostate Cancer, formerly known as the National Prostate Cancer Coalition, in April to join the fight in raising money for prostate cancer research and announced Ken Griffey, Sr. as the honorary chairperson. More than 40 Myrtle Beach area golf courses hosted closest-to-the-pin contests each Saturday in April and raised $40,000 in donations.

During the PGA TOUR Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship, held in Myrtle Beach, August 25th – 28th, more than $5,000 was donated by participating golfers to benefit the Know Your Score and Zero – the Project to End Prostate Cancer campaigns. Each night at the World Am’s 19th Hole at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, golfers participated in closest-to-the pin contests and purchased tickets to play billiards against World 9-Ball champion, Ewa Laurance. Golfers who defeated Laurance received PGA TOUR Superstore gift cards and were registered to win a five-night, four-day Dominican Republic vacation.

“The entire Myrtle Beach golf community eagerly embraced the Know Your Score campaign in 2008 to help raise money for prostate cancer research and spread the word about the importance of early detection,” said Bill Golden, president of Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday. “Tom Quinn and the Myrtle Beach National Company brought the idea for Know Your Score to Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday as the fight against prostate cancer directly affects our core of one million golfers who visit the Grand Strand area annually. The Myrtle Beach golf community has made a long-term commitment to Zero – the Project to End Prostate Cancer and we have one more activity planned for the fall of 2008 that will hopefully take us over $100,000 in donations this year.”

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About Zero-the Project to End Prostate Cancer
Zero prostate cancer deaths. Zero prostate cancer cases and for those with prostate cancer it means a zero PSA. The name conveys what Zero stands for – zero tolerance for prostate cancer.
 
Zero is committed not only to reducing prostate cancer or alleviating the pain from the disease but to end it. Zero set a goal that all men who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer will be cured or manage their illness with good quality of life, with the support they need to minimize physical and emotional suffering and to cope effectively throughout their cancer journeys. To accomplish this goal, Zero provides comprehensive treatment information to patients, education to those at risk and conduct more free screenings than ever before. Zero increases research funds from the federal government to find new treatments and assist in the funding for research in the pursuit of a better test for the disease. For more information about Zero, visit FightProstateCancer.org.

About Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday
Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday is a non-profit trade association of 77 championship golf courses, 115 golf package providers and five golf schools in the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area. Founded in 1967, the organization has been and continues to be the driving force behind the growth of the Myrtle Beach area golf market. The originator of the “Stay and Play Package,” Golf Holiday provides non-biased information about the area accommodations and golf courses to assist golfers in making the most informed decisions when planning for their next vacation. Golf Holiday also hosts seven events and tournaments annually to help grow the game of golf and attract golfers to the Grand Strand during slower times of year. In addition to hosting the Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After The Masters Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament each spring, Golf Holiday also manages the PGA TOUR Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship – the world's largest on-site golf tournament, the Summer Family Golf Tournaments, the Spring and Fall Palmetto High School Golf Championships, the Veterans Golf Classic and the FDNY 9-11 Memorial Golf Outing. For more information, call Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday at 1-800-833-8798 or visit GolfHoliday.com.