Palmetto Hall hosting eGolf Professional Tour season opener
The eGolf Professional Tour will open its season Wednesday on Hilton Head Island for the fifth consecutive year when Palmetto Hall Championship presented by the Westin Hilton Head Island tees off at Palmetto Hall Plantation.
A field of 87 golfers from 20 states and 10 countries will compete on the 7,079-yard, par-72 Robert Cupp Course. Following the conclusion of 36 holes, the field will be cut to the low 35 percent and ties for the final two rounds of play on Friday and Saturday.
The event will be the first of 15 regular-season events on the tour's 2014 schedule, which will give way this fall to the inaugural Million Dollar Championship Series -- a series of four tournaments highlighted by $1,000,000 in overall prize money.
The Million Dollar Championship Series will feature guaranteed purses of $225,000, $225,000, $250,000 and $300,000, with the winner of the fourth and final championship series event receiving a $50,000 first-place prize.
Palmetto Hall Championship
What: eGolf Professional Tour's season-opening event
When: Wednesday-Saturday
Where: Palmetto Hall Plantation's Robert Cupp Course (7,079 yards, par 72)
Cost: Open to the public and free of charge
Details: www.egolfprofessionaltour.com
NOTABLES IN THE FIELD
Frank Adams III -- The longest tenured eGolf Tour player finished 2013 atop the tour's money list.
Tanner Ervin -- Former Clemson golfer.
Steven Fox -- The current Web.com Tour member and 2012 U.S. Amateur champion is making his first eGolf Tour start.
Tadd Fujikawa -- He's the youngest to qualify for the U.S. Open (at 15 in 2006) and second youngest to make the cut in a PGA Tour event (Sony Open in 2007 at 16 years, four days). Fujikawa won the eGolf Tour Championship in 2010 en route to a fourth-place finish on the money list.
Kamito Hirai -- Won the local qualifier for amateurs.
Dykes Harbin -- Former South Carolina golfer.
Vince Hatfield -- Former Clemson golfer.
Luke Hopkins -- Former Clemson golfer.
T.J. Howe -- A three-time eGolf Tour winner.
Peter Malnati -- The current PGA Tour member was an eGolf Tour member from 2010 through 2013 before playing his way onto the Web.com Tour last year, where a win in the News-Sentinel Open pushed the former Missouri Tiger inside the top 25 on the money list, to secure his PGA Tour card for this season.
Ryan Nelson -- The five-time eGolf Tour winner shot a 65 last May at Beaufort's Secession Golf Club to tie Beaufort's Mark Anderson at the top of the local U.S. Open qualifier. Nelson went on to qualify for and play in the 2013 U.S Open at Merion, Pa.
Chris Thompson -- A three-time eGolf Tour winner.
Colby Wilson -- The winner of the 2010 Hilton Head Open won the local qualifier for professionals.
Drew Weaver -- The 2007 British Amateur champion led the eGolf Tour money list in 2012.
This story was originally published February 26, 2014 at 12:57 AM with the headline "Palmetto Hall hosting eGolf Professional Tour season opener."