A veteran of 10 World Amateur Handicap Championships, Rick Sutton had never won anything at the event, including his flight, given that his career best finish was fifth.
So, he was skeptical when he received an email saying he had won the “Trip of a Lifetime,” the grand prize at the 2023 World Amateur Handicap Championship.
He thought it was spam.
“It’s like one of those Publishers Clearing House things,” he recalled thinking of a Myrtle Beach trip that included golf, accommodations, airfare and gift cards. After several conversations with Scott Tomasello, the tournament director at the time, Sutton was convinced the prize was indeed real.
After confirming the legitimacy of the prize, Sutton invited Tom Kearley, Ed Karvois and Tim Abernathy, three colleagues from his years as a systems project manager at Saudi Aramco, to join him. While working and living in the Middle East, the quartet traveled to play together, including a trip to Thailand, and this was the opportunity to bring the band back together.
So, they made the trek to the Golf Capital of the World from Florida, Missouri and North Carolina to enjoy a dream trip in June.
Relying on recommendations from Abernathy, a North Carolinian who regularly visits the area, Sutton arranged a golf course lineup that read like a ‘Who’s Who’ of Myrtle Beach’s best. They played the Love and Fazio courses at Barefoot, TPC Myrtle Beach, True Blue, and Caledonia, all top 100 caliber layouts.
“They were impressed with the courses we played,” Sutton said of his friends. “They will probably go on about ‘Oh man, we played that course. Oh, that was tough.'”
The group ate breakfast each morning at Sea Captain’s House, soaking in a view of the Atlantic Ocean before hitting the course, and they enjoyed a shopping spree at PGA Tour Superstore.
“Everything was top quality, top-notch,” Sutton said. “It was definitely a trip of a lifetime for me, and I think my group. This was a trip we would never otherwise take, and I got to spend a week with old friends.”
For Sutton, the unexpected prize offered an unforgettable experience and proved that sometimes, those unbelievable emails do turn out to be real.
