Chinese golfers compete in World Am for the first time
(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) — The 2012 Golf.com World Amateur Handicap Championship, attracting players from nearly 50 countries during its 29-year history, welcomes its first Chinese participants for this year’s competition.
The influx of Chinese players is a result of a partnership between Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday and Olle Sports, one of China’s leading sports marketing companies.
Publicized via an extensive media campaign involving television, newspapers and magazines, Olle Sports staged 10 World Am qualifying tournaments across China. Host cities were Guangzhou (twice), Zhaoqing, Dalian, Beijing (three times), Shenyang, Wuhan and Zhuzhou. Eight hundred and sixty golfers participated in the qualifying events, with eight players advancing to the World Am.
“This is an exciting opportunity to spread our brand awareness to one of the world’s burgeoning golf hotspots,” says Bill Golden, president of Golf Holiday. “The enthusiasm in China for both golf and travel makes Myrtle Beach an ideal destination with all we offer in terms of courses, accommodations and tourist activities.”
The 2012 Golf.com World Am includes 3,100 golfers from 25 countries and 49 states. The event is contested on 60 acclaimed Grand Strand layouts including the Norman, Fazio and Dye courses at Barefoot Resort, Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, True Blue Golf Plantation, TPC Myrtle Beach and King’s North at Myrtle Beach National.
The entry fee includes daily tournament golf and complete access to “The World’s Largest 19th Hole” at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. The extravaganza highlights include a vast golf exposition, equipment demos, entertainment, open bars, concerts, prize drawings and food from fine area restaurants.
World Am participants are flighted based on gender, age and handicap index. The tournament is comprised of approximately 70 flights and all flight winners advance to the 18-hole world championship playoff where a champion is crowned. The event’s inclusiveness is apparent in its past champions as winners with handicaps as low as three and as high as 34 have won. Four women have hoisted the championship trophy.
For more information about the World Am, visit www.WorldAmGolf.com
About Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday
Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday is a non-profit trade association comprised of 79 championship golf courses and 99 golf package providers in the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area. Founded in 1967, the organization continues to be the driving force behind the growth of the region’s thriving golf market. The originator of the “Stay and Play Package,” Golf Holiday provides non-biased information about 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 to foster continued growth of the game. In addition to hosting the Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After The Masters Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament each spring, Golf Holiday also manages the GOLF.com World Amateur Handicap Championship – the world’s largest single-site amateur golf tournament, the Summer Family Golf Tournaments, the Palmetto High School Golf Championships, the Veterans Golf Classic and the Myrtle Beach Never Forgets Memorial Golf Outing.
Contact:
Chris King
Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday
843.282.2643
cking@golfholiday.com
