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YouTube golf creators to compete for once-in-a-lifetime PGA Tour sponsor's exemption
It looks like the PGA Tour is pivoting to video … at least in this one specific instance. The “Golf Capital of the World” is set to host its first-ever sanctioned event and just might feature your favorite online golf personality taking on the best players in the world, because that’s a thing that can happen now.
Golf Tourism Solutions and Visit Myrtle Beach will host “The Q at Myrtle Beach,” a 16-player, 18-hole shootout in early March that comes with quite the prize: An unrestricted sponsor's exemption for the winner into the PGA Tour's Myrtle Beach Classic, which makes its debut in May. Eight prominent YouTube golf creators will be partaking in the Dunes Golf and Beach Club event (the same course that where the PGA Tour event will be played) and will of course be creating their own content and videos on their respective channels. No surprise there.
There will also be a 90-minute video documenting this once-in-a-lifetime tournament that will eventually drop on Play Golf Myrtle Beach’s YouTube page April 23. If you want to watch some golf, this Myrtle Beach event is about to provide you with an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Tournament officials were quick to note in the press release announcing the event that all 16 participants meet the PGA Tour regulations regarding sponsor's exemptions. All are either professional golfers or amateurs with a USGA handicap of 0.0 or better, and are eligible for PGA Tour competition should they qualify.
Now, you’re probably wondering just who will be teeing off with a chance to make the big time. Eight online personalities and eight pros looking for a spot will all be fighting for that critical victory. Here’s who we’ve got:
Matt Atkins: The USC Aiken alum played six seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour, where he won the 2017 Mexico Championship. Among his 25 PGA Tour starts, Atkins finished T-38 at The RSM Classic in November 2023.
George Bryan IV: The three-time All-American at the University of South Carolina made the cut in his lone PGA Tour start at the 2023 Bermuda Championship. Bryan has more than 410,000 total subscribers and followers on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
Jay Card III: The High Point University alum has made 39 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour and has three top-10s, most recently at the 2023 Wichita Open (T-7).
Morgan Deneen: The former Coastal Carolina University golfer and 2018 Sun Belt champion is the assistant pro at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club and has made three PGA Tour starts, most recently the 2023 Fortinet Championship.
Peter Finch: Based in the United Kingdom, Finch has more than 1.25 million subscribers and followers on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and X.
Grant Horvat: Played collegiately at Palm Beach Atlantic University and has more than 1.35 million combined subscribers and followers on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
Luke Kwon: The member of Good Good Golf and University of Oklahoma alum has made more than 50 starts in PGA Tour-sanctioned events. Kwon has nearly 400,000 combined subscribers and followers on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Good Good Golf has more than 1.4 million subscribers on YouTube.
Micah Morris: The Texas native made one PGA Tour Canada start in 2023 and features more than one million subscribers and followers on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
Turk Pettit: The 2021 NCAA championship winner from Clemson. He turned pro and played in all eight LIV Golf events during the upstart circuit's inaugural 2022 season before playing in PGA Tour Qualifying School last fall.
Dan Rapaport: Member of the "Fore Play" podcast and Barstool Sports, the Northwestern alum (and former Golf Digest writer) was featured extensively in Netflix’s “Full Swing,” and has more than 250,000 combined subscribers and followers on X, Instagram and TikTok.
Scott Stevens: The University of South Carolina alum recorded one victory and three additional top-10s on PGA TOUR Canada in 2022 and made 21 Korn Ferry Tour starts in 2023.
Nick Stubbe: Known as Fat Perez, Nick Stubbe is a member of "Bob Does Sports." Fat Perez features more than one million combined subscribers and followers on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
Tyler Watts: The high school sophomore from Huntsville, Alabama, won the Jones Cup Junior Invitational in December 2023.
Jamie Wilson: A former All-SEC golfer at the University of South Carolina, Wilson has made two starts on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Mason Nut or Cole Lantz of "BustaJack Golf": The BustaJack duo will compete in a playoff match to determine who earns a spot in The Q at Myrtle Beach. They have more than 350,000 combined subscribers and followers on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
So, yeah, these professionals and golf obsessives will all get the opportunity to clinch the final spot in the Myrtle Beach Classic, which just so happens to have a $3.9 million purse and 300 FedEx Cup points. It just goes to show you that if you want to make the highest level in golf, all you need is a camera and the ability to say, “Please like and smash that subscribe button.”