Sneaking into the money at Myrtle Beach
Editor’s Note: This is part of a a series of daily diary entries by Alabama Golf News Editor Gregg Dewalt, who is competing in his first Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship, the largest gathering of amateur golfers in the world.
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The way things turned out, moving day for me turned out to be the final round of the Myrtle Beach World Amateur tournament.
Each flight pays out gift cards to the top five places, with flight winners advancing to the Friday round to crown the overall champion.
No, I didn’t have a miracle closing round that got me to Friday, but two birdies on the final three holes left me with a 77 for a net 73. That was good enough to vault me from tied for ninth to tied for fifth. So, I guess I’ll be getting a gift card in the mail for the PGA Tour Superstore.
My flight played the final round at The International Golf Club. It’s a nice course with good greens. It’s pretty tight, but we played it at 5,900 yards so it wasn’t overwhelming. It should have played right into my hands because I don’t hit the ball very far, but am usually pretty straight off the tee and good with my short irons.
I was anything but that early on. I three-putted three of the first five holes with nothing more than an 8-iron in my hands on my approach shots. But I didn’t get anything within 40 feet of the hole and my lag putting continues to suck.
I was 7-over with three holes to play before nearly holing a wedge for a tap-in birdie on No. 16. On my last hole of the tournament, I made about a 15-foot putt that turned out to be the shot that got me into fifth place.
I guess it’s proof that golf is a funny game sometimes.
Other than the two birdies, the highlight of the day was a cheeseburger at Greg’s Cabana Bar and Grill near the course. It came highly recommended as a spot locals go and it didn’t disappoint.
My biggest takeaway from the week is that the Myrtle Beach World Am is a pretty cool event to play in. The golf is good but more importantly, it’s the people you meet that make the difference.
Today I played with a retired air-traffic controller. We ended up eating lunch at Greg’s together and he was telling me about what it was like to work on 9/11. Interesting stuff.
He also performed first aid on my mid-round soft drink when the Styrofoam cup sprang a leak when a golf tee punched a hole in it.
My biggest disappointment from the week was not winning anything in the skins game. They payouts were pretty good. Oh, and the world’s largest 19th hole every night, with free food and booze, didn’t suck either.
Gregg Dewalt is the editor of Alabama Golf News
Have a story idea or a news item to report to Alabama Golf News? Email gregg@alabamagolfnews.com
Featured image of the World Am’s 19th hole and trade show by Gregg Dewalt
