Myrtle Beach Hosts Nat’l Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Golf Classic Nov. 8 - 13

Cheryl Harden

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, will play host to the tenth annual National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Golf Classic, November 8-13, 2009. Any golfer, whether employed in law enforcement or not, is eligible to participate and 900 golfers from 35 states, Canada and Bermuda have already registered to compete.

The four-day tournament will follow a stroke-play format and will have three divisions; Law Enforcement Officers – singles; Friends of Cops – singles and a team division for foursomes with at least one member of a law enforcement agency. More than $350,000 in golf equipment and plaques will be awarded as prizes.

Monday’s practice round and the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday tournament rounds will be held at 10 Myrtle Beach area golf courses; Arcadian Shores Golf Club, Farmstead Golf Links, Myrtlewood Golf Club – the Palmetto Course and the Pinehills Course, Pine Lakes Country Club, River Hills Golf & Country Club, The Resort Club at Grande Dunes, The Members Club at Grande Dunes, Shaftesbury Glen Golf & Fish Club and Tidewater Golf Club & Plantation. Accommodations will be provided by Dunes Village Resort, Myrtlewood Villas and The Marina Inn.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Golf Classic began in 1999 after retired New York police officer Dan Morphet, a new Myrtle Beach resident, visited Washington D.C. Memorial Walls that honor police officers killed in the line of duty. Morphet noticed several names of former police officers that he worked with on the wall and began to think about their families. Inspired to help raise money and awareness for fallen police officers’ families, Morphet planned an annual golf tournament in Myrtle Beach that would raise money for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. He contacted the director of Washington’s Memorial Wall and told him of his plans to start the fundraising golf tournament. After several conversations, the plan was approved and the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Golf Classic has grown into the world’s largest law enforcement tournament with more than $360,000 raised in nine years.

“I am a retired Rochester police officer who attended too many funerals during my 20-year career,” said Morphet. “Law enforcement personnel typically only get together during training sessions, funerals and disasters and I saw the need for an event where officers can get together to socialize, play golf and honor the 18,000 names on the Washington D.C. Memorial Wall. The annual event donates 100% of the proceeds to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, to help pay for the maintenance of the Memorial Wall, the addition of names to the Wall and provide assistance to the families of the fallen officers.”

“The National Law Enforcement Memorial Golf Classic is an important member of our Myrtle Beach golf community and we’re happy to assist in raising money for the Washington D.C. Memorial Wall fund,” said Bill Golden, president of Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday. “Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day and Myrtle Beach is the perfect place for 900 officers and their family and friends to gather for golf and relax.”

For more information on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Golf Classic or to register, call 1-877-465-3467 or visit Nleomgc.com.