Myrtle Beach Golf News

One of Myrtle Beach’s seven top 100 golf courses is going to play host to seven Hall of Famers and several other sports and entertainment celebrities.

Former NBA champion and all-star Gus Williams, a long-time Grand Strand golfer, will be hosting the first annual Myrtle Beach Celebrity Golf Classic June 10-11 at Barefoot Resort’s Dye Club. The event will benefit the American Cancer Society, a charity that hits close to home for Williams, whose sister died of the disease at the age of 40.

 

Joining Williams will be Pro Football Hall of Famers Lynn Swann, Richard Dent and Steve Largent, Baseball Hall of Fame member Joe Morgan, and Basketball Hall of Famers Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Sam Jones, a 13-time champion with the Boston Celtics, and Lenny Wilkens, the NBA’s all-time winningest coach.

The Hall of Famers are hardly the only big names that have committed. Former major league baseball stars Darryl Strawberry and Vida Blue will be on hand along with Junior Bridgeman (12-year NBA player), Andre Reed (16-year NFL vet), Nat Moore (13-year NFL vet), sportscaster Kathleen Sullivan, former heavyweight title contender Gerry Cooney, and actor Richard Roundtree, among others.

It’s $500 per player to enter the scramble tournament or $2,000 per team. Each team will be joined by a celebrity. A variety of sponsorship levels are available for interested businesses and individuals. 

Participants in the inaugural event will enjoy much more than golf. Festivities will begin on June 10 with a celebrity and sponsor pairing party at Greg Norman’s Australian Grille. The pairings party will feature a silent auction.

The golf tournament will tee off at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 11 and will be followed by an awards banquet and silent auction at the Dye Clubhouse. The weekend will be capped by a Saturday night concert at the House of Blues. Event organizers are hoping attract a nationally prominent act and concert tickets will be on sale to the public.

The golf tournament will not be open to the public for viewing this year.

While this will be Williams’ first time hosting a celebrity golf tournament, he has played in events throughout the nation and has been coming to the Grand Strand for more than 20 years. A 1979 NBA champion with the Seattle Supersonics, Williams met Billy Cole, a long-time golf marketing executive, on his first trip to Myrtle Beach and the two struck up a friendship that helped lay the foundation for the Myrtle Beach Celebrity Golf Classic.

Williams and Cole are joined by Tom Jones, the CEO of Global Attractions Developments, as founders of the event.

All proceeds from the weekend will benefit the American Cancer Society.

“The American Cancer Society is pleased to partner with Gus Williams for the Myrtle Beach Celebrity Golf Classic,” Beth Johnson, the American Cancer Society’s Senior Community Manager, said. “We are excited to be working with Mr. Williams in the fight against cancer.  Cancer is the number one medical concern of most Americans today and one out of four Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.  These numbers alone are threatening but The American Cancer Society and partners like Gus Williams help provide hope to cancer survivors and caregivers around the country.”