CHAMPIONSHIPS
T
he names jump out at you im-
mediately. From Paul Goydos,
Scott McCarron and Dennis
Paulson to Kevin Na, Peter
Tomasulo, Tyrone VanAswe-
gen and 2017 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year
Xander Schauffele, the list of past Long
Beach Open champions and competitors is
filled with players who have gone on to
successful PGA Tour careers.
As one of the most highly regarded
mini-tour events in the country, the Long
Beach Open, which takes place August 8-
11 at the city's American Golf managed El
Dorado Park and Skylinks golf courses,
has attracted stellar fields ever since the
modern version of the event was founded
in 1989.
While a tournament with the same
name dates back to the 1920s and boasts a
history that includes three years as a PGA
Tour event and winners such as Walter
Hagen, Ben Hogan and Charles Sifford,
the event truly took shape in the late '80s
under Long Beach Parks & Recreation Di-
rector Ralph Cryder and Ms. Chris Neal,
the first Executive Director of the Long
Beach Golf Festival.
It immediately drew a field unrivaled
by any other independent professional
event, and its three decades of longevity is
a testament to how well-regarded the tour-
nament has become. Each year, the Long
Beach Open draws a full field of 300 pro-
fessionals and 12 amateurs.
"It's such a tough field with so much tal-
ent — it's not like any other event," said
defending champion Jered Stone. "It's re-
ally the only event you play in with 300-
plus guys, and they get some great
competition. I'd say half the guys are play-
ing with the goal of getting on the PGA
Tour or are already playing on the
Web.com Tour. Winning this event is really
a notch on your belt."
Tim Forbes, the Executive Director of
the Long Beach Golf Festival, said there
are plenty of reasons that the Festival's
premier tournament consistently draws
such a great field.
"The obvious attraction is the $175,000
purse — to the best of my knowledge, the
Long Beach Open offers the second-largest
purse of any independent professional
tournament in the country," he said. "I
think that's what brings us a lot of players,
along with the legacy and tenure of the
event, of course."
But there's more to it than the purse and
CROWN JEWEL
Historic Long Beach Open has earned a famed place in the golf world
AN INSIDE
LOOK!
> CLICK HERE
for everything you
need to know about
this year's Long
Beach Open.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
> CLICK HERE for a
complete list of past
Long Beach Open
champions.
The final two rounds of the Long Beach Open will be
played at American Golf managed El Dorado Park.
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C O N T I N U E D
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