PGA tournament inaugural Myrtle Beach, SC event has several things you need to know about

Come May 2024, golfers will tee off at the Myrtle Beach Classic for the first time.

Myrtle Beach’s first PGA Tournament will take place between May 9-12 at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club, and event organizers have spent months preparing for the event.

Between course renovations, securing volunteers, and selling tickets, event organizers think the Myrtle Beach Classic will be the biggest sporting event in the history of the Grand Strand; here are five things you need to know about the first PGA Tournament in Myrtle Beach.

Tickets are still available for the Myrtle Beach Classic

With more than two months to go before the first drive of the tournament, tickets for the Myrtle Beach Classic are still on sale.

Daily and weekly grounds access tickets, as are daily clubhouse tickets, are still available, according to the Myrtle Beach Classic website. Children 15 years old or younger get in for free; however, some seating is no longer available or is limited.

Weekly tickets for Club 18, a hospitality suite behind the 18th green, are sold out, and day passes for Club 18 are limited. The tournament also offers daily VIP seating for Club 17 on the 17th tee with views of the 11th, 16th, 17th and 18th.

Tournament Director Darren Nelson said that 17 green will have 10 private suites and that the VIP areas on 17 were made to address the demand.

“(We) wanted to have another opportunity for the fans to come out and have the VIP level experience that includes food and beverage so close up,” Nelson added.

Thousands signed up for The Myrtle Beach Classic as volunteers

Thousands also showed interest in staffing the event as volunteers, Nelson added during the press conference. About 1,500 volunteers from 20 different states signed up to participate as walking scorers, gallery managers, standard bearers, and other positions.

“We had almost 4,000 people signed up (during the) initial website inquiry ... We opened up volunteer registration about 2 p.m. (By) 8 p.m., we were full because we had too many people. We had to shut the site down,” Nelson said. “The folks that put together the program that the volunteers sign up through said they’ve never seen anything like it except for the Ryder Cup.”

About 10,000 people are expected to attend the Myrtle Beach Classic a day

Myrtle Beach‘s reputation has translated into interest in the Grand Strand’s first PGA Tournament.

The tournament, which will broadcast on Peacock and the Golf Channel, is also drawing in-person spectators, Nelson said. He added a total of 40,000 spectators is possible for the tournament duration.

“Our goal is 10,000 people a day. So, we’re trending in that direction,” Nelson said in an interview with The Sun News. “We’d say that’s a successful event year one.”

The Myrtle Beach Classic will be the biggest sporting event in Myrtle Beach history

While Myrtle Beach and The Dunes Golf and Beach Club are no strangers to sporting events, its first PGA Tournament will be the biggest, said Dunes Golf and Beach Club President Blair Anderson.

“This is sure to be a historic moment for the (Dunes Golf and Beach Club) and the Myrtle Beach community as a whole,” Anderson said at a press conference held at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club Feb. 26, 2024.

The Dunes Golf and Beach Club has hosted the USGA women’s open, PGA Senior Tour, collegiate tournaments and others before, according to its website. Still, the Myrtle Beach Classic is the first PGA Tour Tournament in Grand Strand history.

The Dunes Golf and Beach Club underwent renovations before its first PGA Tournament

While The Dunes Golf and Beach Club already planned to undergo renovations before the Myrtle Beach Classic, the course will look different once PGA pros tee off in May 2024.

The Sun News reported in August 2023 that a new chipping green was added while the original one was upgraded. Championship tee boxes were laser-leveled and re-sodded, the parking lot and locker room were upgraded, and holes one and 18 had pond work done. The Sun News also reported that in August 2023, the 8th hole received a new tee box.

“We completely had to resurface the hole due to the damage from the last hurricane,” Anderson added during the press conference.

Number eight will play as a par four instead of its usual par five for the tournament, The Sun News previously reported. The renovations cost more than $500,000, The Sun News reported.

One of the new additions also includes a new beach club next to the parking lot, which features slides and other activities.

“It’s been under construction for 18 months,” Anderson said. “We will be introduced to the membership in April, just a few short weeks prior to the event starting.”