Full Field of 120 Competitors Set to Tee It Up in Golfweek Myrtle Beach Collegiate

Golfweek and PlayGolfMyrtleBeach.com have teamed up to fill a competitive void left by the COVID-19 pandemic, joining forces to present the 2020 Golfweek Myrtle Beach Collegiate set for June 24-26 at The Dye Course at Barefoot Resort.

A full field of 120 competitors covering men’s and women’s divisions will tee it up in a 54-hole stroke play event. The field is comprised of players who were on a college roster during the 2019-2020 season, as well as incoming college freshmen who are signed to play in college starting this fall. In either scenario, it marks a highly anticipated return to competition for players whose college and high school seasons were cut short in 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic.

Of the 39 women in the field, 30 colleges and universities are represented, led by:

• Julia Johnson from Ole Miss, No. 70 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR), who won the Battle of the Beach in Mexico with a final-round 61 that is tied for the NCAA’s lowest round ever;
• Ashley Gilliam of Mississippi State (No. 149 WAGR), who set a school record with a 70.61 season stroke average as well as a freshman school record for rounds of par or better in one season (13);
• Emily Hawkins of Campbell (No. 181 WAGR), named Big South Conference Freshman Golfer of the Year as well as the conference’s Golfer of the Year for the 2018-2019 season;
• Jensen Castle of Kentucky (No. 217 WAGR), who set a variety of freshman records in route to earning first team All-Southeastern Conference honors in 2020; and
• Taylor Roberts (No. 595 WAGR), a Florida State signee who won the 2020 Dustin Johnson World Junior Golf Championship at TPC Myrtle Beach.

On the men’s side, 81 competitors from 34 colleges and universities are competing, including 36 players registering in the WAGR. They’re led by:

• Connor Burgess of Virginia Tech (No. 324 WAGR), who led the Hokies in scoring average (71.88) in 2018-19 and, as a junior in 2017, won the George Holliday Memorial Junior at Myrtle Beach National Golf Club;
• Connor Creasy of Georgia (No. 340 WAGR), a first-team Rolex Junior All-American selection; and
• Nicholas Gabrelcik (No. 595 WAGR), a University of North Florida signee who has risen as high as 361 in the WAGR.

The men’s draw also includes three players with notable local ties:

• Keegan Vaugh, a Charleston Southern University signee who won the South Carolina Junior Match Play Championship in 2018 as a rising junior at Myrtle Beach High School;
• Holden Grigg of Coastal Carolina, who as a teammate of Vaugh’s at Myrtle Beach High was The Sun News’ “Toast of the Coast” Player of the Year for three straight years (2017-2019); and
• Patrick Golden of College of Charleston, who along with Grigg was The Sun News’ “Toast of the Coast” Player of the Year in 2017 and led Waccamaw High School to consecutive SCHSL state titles.