| Tweet |
Three South Carolina golfers will be playing in the 2011 Heritage thanks to sponsors exemptions, tournament director Steve Wilmot announced the decision this week.
Sam Saunders, Ben Martin and Charles Warren, who have all played golf for Clemson University, will take part in the 43rd annual Heritage, taking place April 18-24.
The 23-year-old Saunders grew up in Orlando and is Arnold Palmer's grandson. He competed with the Clemson Tigers until turning pro last year. He competed in his first Heritage Classic Foundation-run event in 2008 when he placed T7 at the Players Amateur held at Belfair. He has played in three PGA Tour events this year and made two cuts; his best finish was T15 at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
Martin grew up in Rome, Ga., before enrolling at Clemson. The 23-year-old now lives in Greenwood and has played in eight PGA Tour events this season, making four cuts and a total of $96,000. For three summers in a row he competed in the Players Amateur.
Warren graduated from Clemson in 1998 with a degree in marketing. The 25-year-old grew up in Columbia and now lives in Greenville. He has competed on the Nationwide and PGA Tours since 1998, and has earned three victories on the Nationwide tour. His best finish on the PGA Tour came in 2007, when he came in second at the Reno-Tahoe Open.
These latest exemptions join an earlier group that includes Kyle Stanley, Mark Anderson and Chris Epperson. Stanley recently earned his way into the tournament because of his rank on the current money list. The Heritage received his exemption back and now has three more to name.
Daily tickets and weeklong badges are on sale online at www.theheritagegolfsc.com or by calling the tournament office at 843-671-2448. Badges and daily tickets are also on sale at all CoastalStates Bank locations. In Hilton Head at 5 Bow Circle (next to the South End Post Office) and 98 Main Street (just off the Hilton Head Plantation circle) and in Bluffton at 7 Thurmond Way (next to the Bluffton Post Office) and 30 William Pope Drive (Sun City).
