As the World Am, which is open to men and women of all skill levels, looks ahead to the 37th playing of the event, there is one state that has failed to produce a player in recent years – Alaska.
To help ensure a golfer from the “Land of the Midnight Sun” competes in the 37th annual World Am, which will be played Aug. 31 – Sept. 4, the tournament created “The Last Frontier” sweepstakes. The contest accepted entries throughout the last two months with the intent to provide one Alaska golfer with an expenses paid trip to the 2020 tournament.
After being picked up by local Alaska news stations, World Am tournament staff was blown away by the response! Over 300 submissions were sent in with all sorts of stories. With so many submissions, staff decided to expand the sweepstakes to reward two additional prizes of complimentary entries for 2nd place winners.
Without a doubt, the most memorable was from Patrick B. of Anchorage, AK. Actually, the submission was from Patrick’s wife who shared their story about their love of golf, his service in the military and his dedication to being a father of three. Patrick currently serves the 673rd Controller Squandrant in the United States Air Force at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
Patrick was shown a video from World Am staff offering him the grand prize trip which includes airfare, hotel and entry to the 2020 World Amateur.
The newly added 2nd place winners are John K. of Anchorage who shared his insight into properly avoiding moose and black bears while playing golf in his hometown and Byron L. of Kenai Peninsula who showed his dedication to the game with his creation of a wonderfully named traveling golf group — The Swamp Donkeys.