World Am Announces Updates to 2020 Event

Organizers of the 37^th Annual PlayGolfMyrtleBeach.com World Amateur announced Monday its plans for moving forward with this year’s event, scheduled for Aug. 31 through Sept. 4, 2020 at nearly 60 Grand Strand designs.

With the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 global pandemic, World Am officials and host golf courses will continue taking all steps necessary for ensuring this year’s competition is enjoyed in a safe and healthy environment, said Scott Tomasello, World Am tournament director. Tomasello noted that golf courses along the Grand Strand have been able to maintain daily operations throughout the pandemic with rigorous social distancing measures governing play, allowing golf to become widely accepted as a safe activity in the current climate.

Post-round activities, which have been highlighted for years by the “World’s Largest 19^th Hole” celebration at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, have changed. Given the extraordinary circumstances presented by the pandemic, the World Am has been forced to cancel its 19^th Hole activities for this year’s event.

Said Tomasello, “We’re currently faced with this unfortunate reality: we have no reasonable assurance that federal, state or local COVID-19 guidelines will allow us to accommodate a mass gathering in an indoor facility by that time, and we no longer have the luxury of taking a ‘wait and see’ approach. This is why we have made the difficult decision to cancel our 19^th Hole activities for this year.”

With the absence of 19^th Hole activities in 2020, event organizers remain committed to maximizing the value of the World Am registration fee. As such, they have announced a reduced early bird entry fee of $435 (a $100 reduction of the original early bird fee) and extended the early bird registration deadline to June 11, 2020.

“We want to give players as much time as possible to make an informed decision on signing up,” Tomasello noted, adding that all those signing up by the original May 14 early bird deadline will receive the added incentive of being eligible to win randomly drawn prizes from a $10,000 prize pool awarded to early signups.

As for the tournament competition itself, Tomasello assured current and prospective participants that organizers and host courses are continuously evaluating industry best practices for providing a safe golfing environment for their visit, and will deploy all measures necessary to ensure it.

“For 37 wonderful years, the Myrtle Beach golf community has been fortunate to welcome thousands of avid golfers each August,” said Tomasello. “We know they have options for spending their time and money, and are tremendously grateful when they choose to do so with us.”