This past weekend, like most of you other golf fans, I was watching ESPN and CBS to watch golf’s premiere golf event of the year, the Masters. It’s an event that no other sport can offer, and since this year’s tournament was the most watched golf event since 2001, it’s a safe bet that a lot of you were doing the same thing.
There is a tournament this weekend in Hilton Head, S.C., but after a grueling week at Augusta National, some of the players need some time to unwind. So what do they do next?
For some golfers, the answer is in Myrtle Beach, S.C., the golf capital of the world. Every year the band Hootie and the Blowfish teams up with their sponsors and the Dye Club to hold the Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament. 
“For us, it’s a perfect time to hold the event, and we’ve done it this way for the past 16 years,” said Paul Graham, the tournament director. “With the momentum of the end of the Master’s, it gives guys a great opportunity to play golf the next day in a much different setting. This is about having fun and raising money for charities.”
Hootie and the Blowfish is best known for their album that they released in 1994, Cracked Rear View, which sold over 16 million copies. Now, their lead singer Darius Rucker has turned into a country sensation, with his new album Learn, Live which has topped the country charts and earned him a nod for the Best Vocalist of the Year . But what a lot of people don’t know, is that these guys have had a lifelong love affair with golf, and this tournament collides those interests.
This past year was their seventh straight year in Myrtle Beach, and their sixteenth tournament overall. PGA players included Jim Furyk, Chris DiMarco, John Daly, Rick Beem, and many more.
Each golf is paired with a celebrity, and the event is free for spectators. Sponsors provide all of the food, beverages, and clothes and all of the proceeds benefit the South Carolina education system, South Carolina Junior Golf, and music programs nationwide.
“That’s the proudest moment to these guys, giving back to where they grew up,” said Graham. “It’s a way for them to use their success and gain something a lot bigger.”
The tournament has raised over $2.5 million dollars, and has provided golf fans a way to have a different kind of access to their favorite golfers.
“We knew Jim Furyk was coming this year, and we have always been a big fan of his since he is from Pennsylvania too,” said Julie McGuiness, a 46-year-old from Wilkes Barre, Pa. “It’s a way for us to support him, and we took a vacation for this week in order to come to this tournament.”
Instead of a tournament where players are completely focused in, this environment is much different. These celebrity golf tournaments have players laughing, signing autographs, and giving interviews on the tee. It’s a unique atmosphere.
“The reason we come is because the time, and how nice the tournament is ran,” said Andy Taylor, another golf fan from Pennsylvania. “For me, it’s the start of the golf season and couldn’t be held at a better time.”
Spring time is always the start of golf, and since this tournament marks the beginning of the golf year for fans, it’s a unique kind of tournament.
Later on that night, there is a concert where bands like Hootie, Josh Kelley, Edwin McCain, Sister Hazel, and golfers like John Daly take the stage. The concert is a seperate ticket from the tournament, but their are prizes given away during the day that include a ticket to the concert. The concert, held at the House of Blues, provides another way for fans to see their golfers, whether their upstage or in the crowd enjoying the show.
“As somebody who went to both events, it really provides a way to see golfers rather than just on television,” said Jim Johnson, a 32-year-old South Carolina golfer. “It’s what happening at the beginning of each season, and is the best way to see a golf event.”
It’s a weekend of golf and music, and the guys from Hootie and the Blowfish wouldn’t have it any other way.
“We just want people to have a good time, enjoy some golf and music, and keep coming back every year,” said Hootie guitarist Mark Bryan. “We know that once they come once, there is a good chance they’ll continue to help us in the future.”
Here are some pictures from the event, in both a slideshow form and in a gallery. For each picture, make sure to click on each one for more information from both tournament directors and spectators to get an inside look at the Monday After the Master’s.
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