Probate Lawyer in Myrtle Beach, SC

The Myrtle Beach Classic will tee off in May 2024, bringing thousands to the Myrtle Beach area.

Visitors and locals will be at the Dunes Golf & Beach Club, watching professionals play one of the Grand Strand’s oldest courses in Myrtle Beach’s first PGA tournament.

Myrtle Beach Classic Tournament Director Darren Nelson said that close to 24,000 tickets have been sold, with the projected final total expected to be 40,000. Tickets can be purchased online, but Nelson added that interested spectators can buy tickets at the gate, which is open to the public at 6 a.m., according to a fact sheet for the tournament.

With the tournament set to begin next month, here’s everything you need to know about it before it starts.

PGA golfers will tee off May 9, 2024, and the tournament will run through May 12, 2024. According to a fact sheet for the tournament, tee times will start at 7 a.m. May 9.

Nelson said general admission spectators will park at the former Myrtle Square Mall site at 2400 North Oak St., and shuttles will periodically take people to the Dunes Golf & Beach Club to watch the tournament. Nelson said Carolina Limousine will provide a shuttle service for the event.

According to the tournament’s website, parking is $15 a day. Passes can be bought online. Nelson added that parking passes are digital with a QR code, and paying for general admission lots will be cashless.

Attendees using ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft should avoid trying to set their arrival location as the Dunes Golf & Beach Club as only members and certain ticket holders with proper credentials will be allowed access, Nelson said.

City of Myrtle Beach Director of Public Information Mark Kruea said the tournament is expected to impact downtown Myrtle Beach traffic. While he did not say to what extent, the tournament did fill out a special events permit with the city.

Roads won’t be closed for the tournament, although the application added that an estimated 2,500 vehicles will attend the event. Given the parking lot utilizes North Kings Highway and North Oaks Street, expect traffic to be impacted on those and surrounding roads.

Once attendees arrive at the tournament, they will be able to watch the golf game or partake in other amenities. Nelson said children ages 15 and younger supervised by an adult get in for free for general admission, and the first 100 kids Saturday, May 11, 2024, will receive a free gator-shaped visor.

Nelson also said patrons can attend bars and other fan zones during the tournament.

“It’ll be a place where fans can congregate, hang out, grab a beer; you can see some golf from there as well,” Nelson added.

Nelson clarified, though, that there would be no area designated for tailgating. Although the tournament intended to add these areas, tailgating proved not to be popular with potential attendees.

The tournament will also provide catering, including hot dogs, chicken, barbecue, burgers, and other staples. Michelob Ultra will have a location in the fan zone, and fans will be provided with spirits.

General admission attendees looking for other things to do during the tournament can also listen to live music. Two bands will perform concerts for spectators on the ocean lawn next to the Dunes Golf & Beach Club’s new beach club.

Serving up beach rock and country music, The Swingin’ Medallions and Thompson Square will perform Thursday and Saturday starting at 6 p.m. for free for ticketholders.

Once on club grounds, viewers can either sit in one of the general admission areas or walk the course with the golfers as they play.

While attendees are expected to wear golf attire, Nelson said there is no dress code.

He recommended that attendees bring comfortable shoes to walk in if they choose to follow the action hole-to-hole.

The Myrtle Beach Classic will also feature local celebrities. WPDE Meteorologist Ed Piotrowski and musician Greg Rowles will be at the Myrtle Beach Classic, announcing golfers’ names before they tee off, Nelson said.

Rowles recently opened his own musical theater in North Myrtle Beach, which began having shows April 1, 2024.

Despite the historic nature of the tournament for the Grand Strand, the tournament probably won’t feature many prominent PGA golfers.

The PGA signature Wells Fargo Championship event will take place at the same time as the Myrtle Beach Classic, and top golfers such as 2024 Masters Champion Scottie Scheffler will probably participate in that event instead.

Indeed, the Wells Fargo Championship has a total event purse of $20 million, whereas the Myrtle Beach Classic will have a $4 million purse.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - In less than two months, thousands of country music fans will be in Myrtle Beach for Carolina Country Music Fest.

But this year, fans will see changes to the event’s efforts to keep the festival area clean from June 6-9.

MORE COVERAGE | Carolina Country Music Fest

Organizers want attendees to be more aware of where they can recycle. Not only to help the environment but also have their efforts go towards a great cause.

Liz Bradley says she’s noticed a disturbing trend in the six years she’s worked as security for the festival.

“We have noticed, at the end of the night, when we have to rally everybody up and get them out of the area - how much trash there is,” she said. “...up to your calf when you walk. Especially up by the stage.”

Bradley is also part of the Chirping Birds Society, an environmental advocacy group in the Grand Strand. After years of dealing with trash at CCMF, she wrote a letter to the City of Myrtle Beach expressing her concerns.

“We talked about aluminum, and we talked about maybe figuring out a way to recycle the aluminum and then use the money that comes from recycling for one of the causes,” said Bradley.

CCMF representative Amie Lee tells WMBF News the festival has been working with the city to coordinate recycling efforts. Among the changes will include recycling trailers at the festival this year.

Proceeds from recycled aluminum cans will go toward the South Carolina Burned Children’s Fund.

“This is an easy way for CCMFers to help with the recycling efforts during the event,” said Lee. “Throw the can in, and we’ll take it from there.”

While Bradley is excited to see improvement this year, she said it will only work if people are educated beforehand.

“The biggest problem is that we have to let people know that there is recycling and that they have to do it,” she said. “They can’t just drop their things. They have to bring it over to the bins in order for it to get recycled.”

Stay with WMBF News for updates.

Copyright 2024 WMBF. All rights reserved.

Along the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk, tourists stop, stare and pull out their phones to take pictures of a tabby cat with a missing ear tip sitting on the railing.

She stares at them as they talk among themselves about her cuteness, basking in their attention.

After a minute, she jumps down and walks up to the tourists, rubbing against their legs as they reach down to pet her.

The tabby cat, known by locals as “Mama” or “Green Eyes,” is one of around 10 cats that live along the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk. All of the cats are feral and have made the tourist-ridden area their forever home.

Stacey Marlow, a Lead Gold Cap Ambassador along the boardwalk, said that there have been cats on the boardwalk since she started in 2020. The main cats she sees are Mama, a tan cat named Sandy, and a colony of black and white cats near the SkyWheel.

The cats have built themselves a small community that includes the Gold Cap Ambassadors, the Jehovah’s Witnesses who stand along the boardwalk and the retirees that keep the cats well-fed.

The cats’ main caretaker is a man known as Bob, Marlow said. The Sun News was not able to get in contact with Bob before publication.

He typically comes to the boardwalk once a day and feeds the cats wet food, dry food and milk, Marlow said. He places containers around the area and once the cats have eaten, he picks up all the dishes but leaves one filled with food for Mama.

The man will bring cat toys and try to play with the cats in an attempt to socialize them. Most of the cats along the boardwalk are skittish and won’t let people near them, except Mama. Marlow said Bob is the reason Mama is friendly with people.

Bob isn’t the only food source for the cats. Marlow said snowbirds love to feed the cats and employees at various businesses will also put out food. One woman will sometimes put a can of wet food outside during her shift and picks up the empty can before she leaves for the day.

“The whole boardwalk takes care of the kitties,” Marlow said.

Although some boardwalk cats are too feral to live with people, cats are adopted out when possible, said Grand Strand Humane Society Director Jess Wnuk.

The Humane Society has captured cats along the boardwalk to “trap-neuter-release” the animals. This process is commonly called TNR.

Once in the shelter, veterinarians will perform spays or neuters, give cats shots and hold them for a few days for recovery, Wnuk said. If the cats are friendly, young or old, the shelter will then adopt them out.

If the cats are too feral, they will clip off the tip of the cat’s left ear to signify it has been fixed and received shots. Then they are released back to where they are caught. TNR allows the shelter to control the cat colony by preventing reproduction.

Marlow said a Canadian woman who spends her winters in Myrtle Beach caught a boardwalk cat and adopted it a few years ago. She brought it back to Canada with her and showed Marlow pictures the following winter. She named the cat Myrtle.

According to Myrtle Beach city ordinances, it’s illegal to feed any feral animals along the boardwalk. It does not state what the penalty is for breaking the law.

Marlow said Bob has had a run-in with officers before and it did not go well. Despite that, he will continue to feed the cats.

When asked about it being illegal to feed the cats, Wnuk said the animals need to be taken care of in a humane way. She said the best way to take care of the cats is to feed them privately at the same time everyday.

“It’s unfair to be cruel to animals that didn’t ask to be put there,” Wnuk said. “It’s our responsibility to help them.”

Despite taking an early lead, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans fell to the Fayetteville Woodpeckers on opening night 10-3 in front of a sellout crowd of 6,599. With the loss, the Pelicans start off 0-1 while the Woodpeckers start off 1-0 for the first time since 2019. It was the sixth year in a row that the Pelicans have dropped their first game.

In his second opening night start in Myrtle Beach, Cristian Hernandez (2-4, 2B, RBI, BB) posted the only multi-hit game for the Birds while also stealing three bases. Carter Trice (1-3, 2B, RBI, BB) brought home a run on a double. The Pelicans were held to just five hits in the first game of the season.

Reliever Starlyn Pichardo (0-1) took the loss after allowing a pair of earned runs off three hits and two walks while striking out four. Kenyi Perez gave up the bulk of the runs with five in his 1 2/3 innings. Returning Pelican Marino Santy lasted three innings in his start with two earned runs and four strikeouts while giving up seven hits.

The brand new Woodpeckers lineup posted 15 hits, with Xavier Casserilla (3-6, 2B, 3 RBI) leading the group with a three-hit performance. Oliver Carrillo (2-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB) hit the only home run of the contest. Anthony Sherwin (3-5, 2 RBI) and Kenni Gomez (2-5, 2 RBI) each brought home a pair of runs.

Four pitchers appeared in the first game of the season for Fayetteville with Kelly Austin (1-0) picking up the win by posting 1 2/3 scoreless innings and striking out three. Jackson Nezuh allowed just one run across four innings out of the bullpen and starter Ethan Pecko lasted 2 1/3 framed with two earned runs and six strikeouts.

It was the Pelicans grabbing an early lead after Andy Garriola hit a groundout to short with runners on second and third to bring home Hernandez for the game’s first run.

Fayetteville answered in the top of the third with two runs. Three straight singles to begin the frame brought home the Woodpecker’s first run as Carrillo hit a liner to left to plate Waner Luciano from third. Gomez later hit a single to score the runner from third as the Woodpeckers took a 2-1 lead to the bottom half.

Myrtle Beach responded quickly in the bottom half of the third. After Hernandez singled and stole two bases to get to third, Trice knocked him in on a double to left-center field to tie the game 2-2.

Two runs for the Woodpeckers in the top of the fifth gave the visitors the lead for good. Carrillo hit a solo home run to left field with one out and Gomez later hit a single with a runner on second to bring home the second run as Fayetteville took a 4-2 advantage.

Friday’s game broke open in the seventh with Fayetteville sending six runs across the plate. With the bases loaded, Luciano was hit by a pitch from Perez. Sherwin followed with a two-run single on a line drive to center. Shane Marshall entered the game on the mound and gave up a walk to load the bases again, and Casserilla cleared the bases on a double to deep center that hit off the wall as the Woodpeckers extended their lead to 10-2.

The Pelicans scored their final run in the bottom of the seventh as Hernandez brought home his brother Alexis on a double.

Opening weekend continues on Friday night as the Pelicans and Woodpeckers meet for the second game of the series at 6:05 p.m.

A Facebook post has Myrtle Beach residents wondering if a casino would ever open on the Grand Strand.

Posted April 1, 2024, in the Myrtle Beach, SC Facebook Group, a user claimed that Wind Creek Casino & Resorts was opening a new casino on the Grand Strand in 2028. However, the post was likely an April Fool’s joke, City of Myrtle Beach Director of Public Information Mark Kruea said, and is incorrect.

Wind Creek did not return a request for comment before publication.

Although the post generated much conversation, even users pointed out it was likely an April Fool’s prank. Indeed, building a casino on the Grand Strand is impossible for one simple reason.

The hallmarks of a casino, which include blackjack, craps and roulette tables alongside slot machines and other card games, are all illegal in the Palmetto State.

South Carolina’s Title 16 Chapter 19 of the Code of Laws explicitly bans operating a gambling store or tables. While casino boats are in the area, no gambling operations are allowed on South Carolina soil besides the lottery. South Carolina is also in the minority of states where sports betting is not legal.

Efforts to change the state’s gambling status quo have gone nowhere as well. S.C. Republican Representative Chris Murphy of Dorchester County, Democratic Minority Leader J. Todd Rutherford of Richland County and other sponsors introduced a bill to allow certain types of sports betting Jan. 19, 2023.

The bill, H. 3749, is still residing in the house. While laws can change over time, hospitality experts in the state are less than enthusiastic about bringing gambling to the Myrtle Beach area.

Scott Smith is an associate professor at the University of South Carolina’s School of Hospitality and Tourism. Smith studies attraction management and revenue management, and he said casinos would not help the Myrtle Beach vacation economy as some might expect.

Aside from the fact that it would probably attract uninformed players instead of experienced gamblers, Smith said that casinos are no longer as unique a property as they once were. As gambling becomes more prevalent across the United States, diluting the appeal of massive casinos and places like Las Vegas that would serve as more of a draw than a Grand Strand option, Smith added that online gaming has somewhat made them less valuable investments.

“People think that legalizing gambling is this kind of silver bullet or magic solution,” Smith said in a February 2024 interview. “It might bring more problems and issues than it would in helping because you might get people that would just go right to the casino and they wouldn’t shop or use the restaurants.”