The majority of the field for the PGA Tour’s inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic has been released, and it features several players who have multiple tour wins, a past FedExCup champion, and past members of the U.S. Ryder Cup Team.
While many of what would be considered the top 70 or so players on the tour will be playing in the $20 million Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, which will be held concurrently with the $4 million Myrtle Beach Classic, the talent level will still be deep at The Dunes Golf and Beach club next Thursday through Sunday.
“The reality is every tournament on the PGA Tour is an elite event,” said Jonathan Byrd, who has five wins in his 480 PGA Tour starts. “Everybody is looking for that opportunity to win a PGA Tour event or have a good finish to try to springboard into getting in more events.
“I played two weeks down on the Korn Ferry Tour in South America and was just impressed with the talent on the Korn Ferry Tour. You’re going to hear a lot of really good story lines from younger guys and the talent pool on the PGA Tour is just fantastic.”
The field of 132 is largely set after some changes Sunday, though four players will be added through a qualifier on Monday at TPC Myrtle Beach that will include those who advanced through pre-qualifiers held this past Monday at TPC and Tuesday at Prestwick Country Club.
Some players qualified for the Wells Fargo Championship at the conclusion Sunday of The CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Texas. Eight-time PGA Tour winner Billy Horschel, for example, was among the Myrtle Beach entrants but qualified for the Wells Fargo, as did Byron Nelson winner Taylor Pendrith of Canada.
Ten players in the field to watch
_ Kevin Kisner: The Aiken native and resident has four PGA Tour wins – as recently as 2021 at the Wyndham Championship – and 10 runner-up finishes, and is one of four tour members who are members of the historic Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, along with Matt NeSmith, Richy Werenski and Scott Brown. Kisner played in many junior events on the Grand Strand and owns land on the Pee Dee River in Georgetown County, where he often hunts and fishes in the short offseason.
_ Davis Riley: The 27-year-old Alabama alumnus won last year’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event with partner Nick Hardy, and has already won more than $6.45 million in just two-plus years on the PGA Tour. Riley also has a runner-up finish in the 2022 Valspar Championship among five career top-five finishes.
_ Brandt Snedeker: A nine-time winner on the PGA Tour and the 2012 PGA Tour FedExCup champion, he also played on the 2012 and 2016 U.S. Ryder Cup Teams. He has 27 career top-three PGA Tour finishes and has already won in South Carolina, claiming the 2011 RBC Heritage title.
_ Cameron Champ: He is one of the game’s long hitters, and despite being just 28, Champ is a three-time winner on the PGA Tour.
_ Daniel Berger: A four-time winner on the PGA Tour and the 2014-15 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, Berger played on the 2020 U.S. Ryder Cup Team.
_ Charley Hoffman: A four-time winner on the PGA Tour, he also has 10 runner-up finishes in more than 500 career PGA Tour events.
_ Matthew NeSmith: The 30-year-old University of South Carolina alum hasn’t won on the PGA Tour yet – has a runner-up and a third – but he has won at The Dunes Club, tying for medalist honors in the 2016 college General Hackler Championship with Jimmy Stanger of Virginia with a 9-under 207 score.
_ Jimmy Stanger: The 29-year-old Tampa native has done one better than NeSmith at The Dunes Club, claiming a pair of victories including the 2016 Southern Amateur title with a 12-under 276 score. He’s had minimal success as a pro, however, with seven cuts made in 17 PGA Tour events, though he won a Korn Ferry Tour event last year and tied for third in the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open in March opposite the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
_ Ryan Moore: The five-time PGA Tour winner claimed the clinching point for the U.S. in the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine in Minnesota with a 1 up win over Lee Westwood with three matches still in progress. The 41-year-old has 19 career top-three finishes and last won in 2016.
_ Blades Brown: A 16-year-old high school sophomore from Nashville, Brown has received a sponsor exemption to make his PGA Tour debut. Last year he was the youngest stroke play co-medalist in U.S. Amateur history, breaking a century-old mark held by Bobby Jones, and won back-to-back American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) titles.
Other notables
_ Matt Wallace: The 34-year-old four-time winner on the DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) earned his first PGA Tour win in last year’s Corales Puntacana Championship and comes in as perhaps the tournament’s hottest player with a tie for fourth in last week’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
_ Jhonattan Vegas: The native of Venezuela who played at the University of Texas has three PGA Tour wins and a total of 10 top-three finishes, and played in the 2017 Presidents Cup.
_ Joel Dahmen: Easy to spot with his bucket hat, Dahmen looks for his second opposite-field event victory in four seasons, having won the 2021 Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship.
_ Martin Laird: The 41-year-old Scotland native who played at Colorado State has four career PGA Tour wins, including one as recently as 2020, and has more than $22 million in career PGA Tour earnings.
_ Aaron Baddeley: The 43-year-old Australian has four PGA Tour wins in more than 500 events played as well as four international wins, with his last win coming in 2016.
_ Robert MacIntyre: A 27-year-old native of Scotland who played at McNeese State, MacIntyre has three international victories and was a member of the victorious 2023 European Ryder Cup Team.
_ Chez Reavie: The 42-year-old has three PGA Tour wins including two wins in the past five seasons.
_ Ben Martin: A Greenwood native, Kiawah Island resident and Clemson alum, he has one PGA Tour victory in 249 events, and one top 10 in 11 PGA Tour events this year.
_ Bill Haas: The 41-year-old Greenville resident and six-time winner on tour has played on six U.S. Presidents Cup teams and received a sponsor exemption from the tournament.
_ Jonathan Byrd: Another sponsor exemption recipient from South Carolina, the Anderson native and Clemson alum notably won the 2010 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children with a hole-in-one during a three-person playoff.
_ Matt Atkins: The 33-year-old USC Aiken alumnus and North Augusta resident qualified by winning The Q Myrtle Beach, a competition between eight social media golf influencers and eight aspiring touring pros. He has played six years on the Korn Ferry Tour, on which he won the 2017 Mexico Open, and has made nine cuts in 26 PGA Tour starts with a tie for 22nd in the 2018 Corales Puntacana Championship being his best finish.
_ George Bryan IV: Despite losing to Atkins in a playoff in The Q, he is in the field via a sponsor exemption. He is half of the trick shot duo The Bryan Bros with his brother Wesley, and they are ambassadors for the Myrtle Beach golf industry through the Golf Tourism Solutions technology and marketing agency. Bryan will be making his second PGA Tour start, having made the cut in last year’s Bermuda Championship.
_ Wesley Bryan: He was in position to qualify for the Wells Fargo entering the Byron Nelson but missed the cut and dropped into the Myrtle Beach Classic. Bryan won the 2017 RBC Heritage and finished second on April 21 in the Corales Puntacana Championship.
Declining an opportunity
University of Louisville senior Max Kennedy is declining his invitation to play as the winner of the General Hackler Championship hosted by Coastal Carolina at The Dunes Club in March.
He’ll instead be preparing for his team’s NCAA Regional, and will be invited by tournament operator Sportfive to one of the sports marketing company’s PGA Tour events over the next two years, Nelson said.
Determining the field
The Wells Fargo Championship is the sixth of eight Signature Events with elevated purses of $20 million and a limited field of 70 or so of the top players on the tour.
The criteria determining who qualified for Charlotte and therefore won’t be in Myrtle Beach is as follows in order of priority:
_ 1, The top 50 players from the 2023 FedExCup points list through the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. With Tyrrell Hatton moving to LIV Golf, this number is at 49 with no alternates.
_ 2, The top 10 players on the 2024 FedExCup point list through the Byron Nelson who aren’t among the top 50 from last season. Alternates are permitted.
_ 3, The five players not already qualified who accumulate the most FedExCup Points during the swing of tournaments between and during Signature Events, which in the case of the Wells Fargo will be the Corales Puntacana Championship, Zurich Classic of New Orleans and Byron Nelson. Alternates are permitted.
_ 4, PGA Tour winners in 2024 full FedExCup Points events (excludes additional opposite-field events such as Puntacana).
_ 5, Any PGA Tour member in the top 30 in the Official World Golf Ranking through the Byron Nelson not already qualified.
_ 6, Up to four sponsor exemptions at the tournament’s discretion for PGA Tour members not already qualified.
Tournament particulars
_ Field: The tournament will host 132 players. The top 60 scorers and ties after the second round will make the cut to the weekend rounds.
_ Purse: The payout is $4 million and includes $720,000 to the winner.
_ FedExCup Points: The Myrtle Beach Classic is one of 36 events offering FedExCup points in the 2024 PGA Tour season and offers 300 to its winner, compared to 500 for winning a regular tour event and 700 for winning a Signature Event, such as the Wells Fargo Championship.
_ Yardage: The Dunes Club is playing as a 7,347-yard par-71 and can be stretched longer with tee marker and pin placements
_ Tee times: Begin at 6:50 a.m. Thursday and Friday and should begin about 7 a.m. on the weekend, and play should conclude between 5-6 p.m. daily.
_ Tickets: Are digital only and available through the MyrtleBeachClassic.com website. General admission grounds tickets are $35 Wednesday, $55 Thursday and Sunday, and $65 Friday and Saturday. A weekly grounds ticket is $240. Digital tickets can also be purchased at the gate. A Club 17 shared hospitality venue ticket is $325 per day and includes beer, wine, food and non-alcoholic beverages, and a cash bar. A few private and shared hospitality tickets on 17 are available. Email Travis Galowski at travis.galowski@sportfive.com with inquiries. Up to four children ages 15 and under are admitted with a ticketed adult. Military and first responders receive free tickets Wednesday and a 25% discount on up to two daily grounds tickets Thursday-Sunday. The course is closed to the public Monday and Tuesday.
_ Public parking: Is at the site of the former Myrtle Beach Mall at 2400 Oak Street and is $15 per day, purchased in advance, or cash or credit card on site. The price is $20 without a digital ticket. That is also the location for ride sharing pick up and drop off.
_ TV: Golf Channel and Peacock will broadcast live from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Thursday and Friday, and 3-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Golf Channel says it is available in 82 million homes in the U.S. and 120 million homes worldwide.
_ Volunteers: Nearly all approximately 1,500 volunteer opportunities sold out within six hours with 20 states represented. The trash removal ecology committee is still accepting volunteer positions that offer several perks including food and drinks in a tent throughout a shift. Register at KeepMyrtleBeachBeautiful.com.
_ Merchandise: Tournament and Dunes Club logoed items will be sold in the clubhouse pro shop and a tent in the Fan Zone.
_ Etiquette: Cell phones should be off or on vibrate at all times and items such as umbrellas and folding chairs are prohibited.
