The PGA Tour’s Wells Fargo Championship will be moving a lot closer to the Grand Strand in 2017, and the tour and tournament officials have wasted no time in promoting the event.
The tournament is moving to the private and prestigious 7,259-yard Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, N.C., for 2017 only, because its host course, Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C., is hosting the 2017 PGA Championship.
Tickets for the 15th annual tournament from May 4-7, 2017 already went on sale on Oct. 12 and are expected to be in high demand because of the novelty of the tournament being in Wilmington. Tournament officials estimate the economic impact to the Wilmington area to be between $40 and $60 million.
Grounds ticket prices start with the $30 Practice Pack, which consist of three individual daily tickets for Monday through Wednesday and include two pro-ams and a practice round. A Weekly Ticket Book is $165, daily tickets for Thursday’s opening round are $50 and daily tickets are $60 for each of the final three rounds. Shipping and handling is free for a limited time.
Parking and round-trip shuttle service from tournament authorized lots will be free. Children 12 and under are free with a paid adult admission, and active military or veterans can receive free one-day admission through the USO of North Carolina.
Patrons can purchase tickets and research hospitality options by visiting www.wellsfargochampionship.com or calling 1-800-945-0777.
Champions for Education, a non-profit host organization, manages and operates the Wells Fargo Championship and is among its many beneficiaries.
This past May, Rory McIlroy became the tournament’s first multiple champion. Other past champions include Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk, Rickie Fowler and J.B.. Holmes.
RBC tickets on sale
Tickets are also available for the PGA Tour’s 2016 RBC Heritage presented by Boeing from April 14-17 at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, and Clubhouse Badges are $35 off through Dec. 18.
The promotional price on the weekly Clubhouse Badge is $190 and it increases to $245 next April. Clubhouse Badges allow access to the clubhouse, Heritage Pavilion featuring a cash bar, and two on-course hospitality venues on holes 7 and 15 with food and beverage for purchase.
Daily tickets are $65 per day in advance and $85 per day in April, and a weeklong Grounds Badge is $150/$170. Three-day Clubhouse Practice Round Badges start at $40. Additional tickets including hospitality are also available, including a Doc’s BBQ Club 15 pass for $375.
Juniors age 15 and under are admitted free when accompanied by a ticketed adult. Call 843-671-2448 or visit www.rbcheritage.com to purchase tickets or for more information.
Kirk, Redding recognized
The Grand Strand didn’t place any teachers on Golf Digest’s recently-released list of the 50 Best Teachers in America for 2015-16, but a pair of teachers are among the magazine’s best teachers in South Carolina.
Meredith Kirk of Blackmoor Golf Club is ranked No. 3 in the state, while Brad Redding of the International Club of Myrtle Beach is No. 7 among the 12 teachers listed.
Thousands of teaching pros were asked to rate their peers for the rankings, which appear in the November issue of Golf Digest.
Kirk and Redding have each earned several teaching accolades. Kirk was also named one of the 40 “Best Young Teachers (under 40) in America” for 2014-15 by Golf Digest. She operates the Junior Golf Exchange, which provides free clubs to children.
Redding has been included on the biennial list of the top teachers in S.C. since 2005, was previously on “the best” lists in Pennsylvania and Tennessee, is a Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher in America and a seven-time PGA of America section Teacher of the Year.
Redding is a member of Proponent Group, a company dedicated to delivering golf instructors business-oriented benefits to help grow their teaching skills and businesses.
Bernat takes titles
Joe Bernat, owner and operator of the Joe Bernat Golf Academy at Whispering Pines Golf Club, took a pair of titles in biennial championships held by the United States Golf Teachers Federation and affiliated World Golf Teachers Federation.
Bernat, who turns 75 on Tuesday, captured Legends Division titles for instructors 70 and older. The tournaments were played on Walt Disney World Golf’s Magnolia and Palms courses in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
He won the U.S. Golf Teachers Federation Cup on Oct. 13-14 by six shots with a 71-79–150, and World Golf Teachers Cup on Oct. 15-16 featuring players from more than 30 countries by a shot with a 78-75–153 .
There were four divisions in each –Open, Senior, Super Senior and Legends – and Bernat won $900 for each victory.
The U.S. Golf Teachers Federation in based in Port St. Lucie, Fla., and was established in 1989. Its mission is to train individuals to become golf instructors. The affiliated World Golf Teachers Federation was founded in 1993, and the organizations claim to have 25,000 members in 42 countries.
They have four levels of teaching, and Bernat, who was formerly a PGA of America member, has been through all four so he’s recognized by the organization as a Master Teaching Professional. His academy has been at Whispering Pines since moving from the TPC of Myrtle Beach last October.
Legends participate
The First Tee of the Lowcountry youth development organization serving Beaufort and Jasper counties in the Hilton Head Island area hosted quite an event on Monday.
It’s second annual Champions Tournament at Wexford Plantation featured amateurs teaming up with golf legends including Bob Goalby, Don January, Dow Finsterwald, Lee Elder, Billy Maxwell and Jim Ferree, a Hilton Head resident.
Proceeds from the event will benefit The First Tee chapter’s forthcoming golf facility and learning center.
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