Festival adds 2 golf tournaments
by Jim Joyce Special projects editor

Festival of Flowers golf tournaments began with the men’s division in 1979. Today, the total number of tournaments has grown to four — two new ones for this summer’s event.

A women’s division started in 1995 and, after a period of four years’ absence, is moving into its third straight year.

In the meantime, new ones for this year are the seniors and juniors division, which makes for happy times for Festival Executive Director Kay Self.

“Golf is a wonderful sport and now we have enough events for everybody,” Self said, in her first year as director of Festival events.

“I think it’ll go well. We have beautiful courses to showcase and the pros know what they’re doing because they have done this before. It creates events for the younger generation to women and to seniors who are really sincere about golf.”

The Greenwood Country Club will host the June 4-5 junior event and the June 23-24 men’s event, the women will play June 9-10 at The Patriot Club at Grand Harbor and the June 23-24 seniors event is at the Golf Club at Star Fort.

“It’s the first time for the junior tournament that evolves from the Jimmy Self High School Invitational that was held mostly at Hilton Head,” Self said. “It has been in Greenwood before and the timing is perfect to move it back to Greenwood.

“It’s not a high school invitational any more. It is an individual play tournament for players from South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.”

The junior tournament is in memory of Jimmy Self Jr, a lifetime resident of Greenwood County and former chairman of the Board for Greenwood Mills and Greenwood Development Corp.

He was was captain of the Clemson golf team in the mid-60s and later served on the Board of the South Carolina Golf Association.

The field for this event will consist of 60 boys and 24 girls, using the USGA handicap index as one parameter factored in the method of gaining the best possible field.

“The junior tournament is a great thing to have in Greenwood,” GCC pro Ed Carlisle said. “It brings all the best juniors from the surrounding states to Greenwood and I’m excited about it.”

He added, “It gives the juniors the opportunity to play a great golf course for two days in a highly competitive environment.”

“Out of this event, you may also see somebody play on Sundays on the tour. That’s the caliber of kids who are coming in here.”

The Festival of Flowers Senior Golf Classic will be guided by a committee of pro Tommy Pendley, Roger Burriss, Billy Delk, Harold Lovette, Sam Corley and Nolan McCutcheon, all at the Golf Club at Star Fort.

The field will be limited to 90 players 50 years old or older and will be a 36-hole individual stroke play.

“Tommy (Pendley) called and said you are having a juniors tournament, what do you think about a seniors tournament,” Self said. “It serves a different group of people and players and I see no reason why we can’t have one for the seniors.”

“It’s good to branch out and have events for all different people and ages.”

Pendley added, “I thought it would be an opportune time for the seniors side. Another factor was because I had witnessed and run the original Festival of Flowers tournament and I was beginning to see that some of the players were more reluctant to come. They were saying they were not young enough to compete with the younger adults.”

“We’ll be able to get some of the former champions who are older and feel they have an honest chance to compete.”

The course is expected to be set up between 6,400 and 6,500 yards.

“I’m optimistic about it,” Pendley said. “We will be able to draw a very quality field and it may take us two or three years to get the word out, but it’s a new event but I think we’ll do well.”

Pro Tommy Thomas is in his second year working with the Women’s Open Golf Tournament at The Patriot Club and says he’s excited about its return.

“We hope we get at least the number we had last year (40), but hope to get more,” he said. “I like having it here. We had quite a few players from the coast last year and hoping to get more people from other areas to check out our course this time.”

He said no major changes are expected to be made and it will probably play around 5,100 yards.

The me’s regular tournament is by invitation only, Carlisle said, listing exempt players who fit the following criteria:

• Top 20 winners and ties from last year’s tournament.n Top 50 from the SCGA Amateur.
• All former champions.
• Quarterfinalists from the S.C. Match Play event.
• 32 match play qualifiers from the CGA amateur event.
• Top 20 from the CGA Mid-Am.
• Top 10 from the SCGA Mid-Am.
• Top 2 from the SCGA BB&T Rankings.
• Top 20 from the SCGA Player of the Year points list as of April 1.
• Top 7 finishers in the Junior Festival of Flowers tournament.

Carlisle said there will also be a local qualifier that will carry four or five spots, depending on the numbers.

“We hope to have this tournament at the club from now on” Carlisle said. “‘m excited about it coming back.”?

Greenwood players have won the last three events.