Tommy Blackwood has been coming to Myrtle Beach for decades.
He started his career in law enforcement in 1975. Shortly after that, he picked up the game of golf — and like so many others, he fell in love with it. Long shifts and overtime meant he built up vacation time, and every August he would take four weeks off.
He had four kids. Every year he asked them the same question:
“What do you want to do?”
The answer was always the same.
Myrtle Beach.
That family tradition eventually led him to discover the Play Golf Myrtle Beach World Amateur Championship. And once he played it, he was hooked.
“This is the best venue where you can really challenge your skill level and play the game of golf — bottom line,” Tommy says.
“But beyond the challenge, there’s so much more.”
He talks about the restaurants. The places to stay. The nightly entertainment. The atmosphere. The friendships. Every year he collected phone numbers from new friends and reconnected with them the following August.
It became more than a tournament.
It became part of his life.
Playing the Best Golf of His Life
The 2024 World Am was shaping up to be special.
Day one: 15th place.
Day two: 7th.
Day three: 4th — just four strokes back.
Tommy had finished in the Top 10 before, but this time felt different. He was playing some of the best golf of his life.
After his fourth round, he knew he had a shot of making it to the finals.
That night at the World’s Largest 19th Hole, Tommy found out he won his flight and secured his spot in the Friday finale.
But what happened next would redefine everything.
A Moment That Changed Everything
After coming off the dance floor with his daughter, Tommy was talking with her when he
suddenly collapsed into her lap.
At first, it was thought it might be a diabetic episode and friends went to get orange juice. But within moments, Tommy stopped breathing.
The band was playing. The room was loud. His daughter was screaming for help.
And then someone heard.
A physician who had been playing in the tournament rushed over and began CPR. He broke Tommy’s ribs trying to save him.
Tommy flatlined in the auditorium. He flatlined again in the ambulance.
Three days later, he woke up at Grand Strand Medical Center. Doctors told him he had suffered a heart attack and would need a triple bypass.
“I reckon the Lord didn’t want me to go that day,” Tommy says.
He gives credit to his faith. He gives credit to the physician who stepped in without hesitation. And he remembers a nurse named Anne who stayed with his daughter, comforting her during the most terrifying moments of her life.
“These people saved me.”
What Winning Means Now
Tommy did win that week.
But not in the way he once measured victory.
“It’s not about winning for me anymore,” he says. “That’s over with. I won. I won because I’m sitting here now.”
Today, Tommy describes himself as a witness — someone who shares his story to remind
others not to take life for granted.
And in many ways, his story captures the true spirit of the World Am.
Yes, it’s the largest amateur golf tournament in the world. Yes, it’s competition at its finest.
But it’s also community. It’s connection. It’s people looking out for one another.
In a room filled with fellow competitors, one of them became a lifesaver.
That’s bigger than golf.
More Than a Tournament
For decades, Tommy came to Myrtle Beach with his family. What started as a vacation tradition became a competitive pursuit. What began as a golf trip became a life-changing story.
The World Am tests your game.
But sometimes, it reveals something far deeper — the strength of community, the power of presence, and the gift of another day.
Tommy Blackwood came to Myrtle Beach to compete.
He left with something greater.
And today, he’s still here to tell the story.
