MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — As Jonathan Pawlowski feverishly ran laps around the dance floor while belting out Limp Bizkit’s “Faith,” a couple hundred onlookers in a Myrtle Beach Convention Center ballroom looked on, puzzled.
As entertainment bits go, this one was a bit risky given the audience. But Pawlowski’s partner eventually found validation.
“By the end, I looked out and I saw some old woman going like this,” Hannah Aslesen said, flashing a raised forefinger and pinkie. “I was like, O.K., we got her. We got the crowd.”
Call it a real-time “like” button-smash for St. André Golf, and for the Myrtle Beach World Am.
Jonathan Pawlowski (white shirt with microphone), Hannah Aslesen (with microphone) and Aaron Chewning (with bag) emceed all four nights at the Myrtle Beach World Am’s “World’s Largest 19th Hole.” / Drew Amato
The self-proclaimed “Golf Capital of the World” welcomed nearly 3,000 players late last month for the 42nd consecutive year of its greatest event, the biggest amateur tournament anywhere. The Myrtle Beach World Am is a tourism triumph, filling tee sheets at nearly 60 courses in a slow spot on the calendar before Labor Day weekend, while also offering amateurs a true tournament experience.
Bring your clubs and your validated handicap to the South Carolina coast (and North Carolina too, that’s how many courses are used) and you play four rounds under tournament rules—putt everything out, please—with a chance to be crowned “World Am” champion.
“This is amazing,” says USGA CEO Mike Whan, visiting one night. “We all who love this game take this for granted—like, if you’re a super swimmer or a track star or you play football at a high level, you can’t show up at some other state and play against juniors, seniors men, women, skilled players, beginners and have a tournament together.”
It’s not just a tournament, but a four-day party. Included in the tournament entry fee of around $600 (players pay for their own travel and accommodations) is a ticket to the “World Largest 19th Hole,” open from 6 to 9 p.m. each night after play. Taking up the entire Myrtle Beach Convention Center, the 19th Hole offers free food, drinks (yes, alcohol too), games and live entertainment.
The latter, though, had grown a bit stale in recent years. A stage in the main hall of the convention center featured a rotation of guest speakers—including me a couple years ago, late one evening. I’ve had bigger audiences at my Thanksgiving table, and that’s not a knock on the Myrtle Beach World Am field. Who wants to listen a sports writer’s Q&A when there’s two things left to do on the night: hit the Friendly’s ice cream station and go home?
“If you have been coming for a number of years, you’d see the same faces, same energy,” says Kyle Oland, director of marketing at Golf Tourism Solutions, the group behind the World Am. “We just wanted to bring a fresh kick into it.”
This year, that meant handing the emcee duties to the comedic trio known as St. André Golf.
If you don’t know founder Aaron Chewning, Pawlowski and Aslesen by their names (St. André Golf has 462,000 followers on Instagram, 355,000 on Tiktok and 147,000 subscribers on YouTube), you’ve probably seen their videos pop up on your golf group chats.
The trio, which has been working together for three years but has a camaraderie that feels much older, brings relatable humor to golf that doesn’t “punch down” as Aslesen says.
“If anything, we’re punching at ourselves and each other,” she says. “We’re all very comfortable being the butt of the joke, we want it to be a collective laugh and not like we’re laughing at someone unless it’s ourselves.”
Aaron Chewning, Hannah Aslesen and Jonathan Pawlowski will be back in 2026 at the Myrtle Beach World Am. / Drew Amato
That authenticity has resonated with fans and brands. The Atlanta-based group (which has five full-timers including production staff) wore Johnnie-O golf and NFL threads around the convention center; their next gig will be working as roving correspondents at the Ryder Cup.
For four nights at the Myrtle Beach World Am they roamed the floor for impromptu chats with amateurs, whether the ams were hanging out at tables or taking shots at the long putt challenge and “island” par-3 contests in the main hall. One night also included a competition with George and Wesley Bryan, the ex-pros who have also carved out a niche in the creator space, and the two groups collaborated for social content (see above).
And all the shenanigans were simulcast on a four-sided big screen in the middle of the convention center. The stage that hosted all the entertainment in recent editions remains but is. no longer the central focus.
A new big screen video board was a major upgrade at the World Am. / Drew Amato
But nothing could match karaoke night and Pawlowski’s performance for buzz and a that actually happened moment.
Here’s the rub: the Myrtle Beach World Am field skews older. There are 60 tournament flights, with about 40 to 45 players in each (there are also three “just for fun” flights), with 50 flights comprised of players over 50 years old and 39 with players 60 and over. At the World’s Largest 19th Hole, many depart well before last call with early tee times the next day. Chewning joked that while they all likely have social media, it might be Facebook on web browsers.
And how many seniors do you think have heard of Limp Bizkit?
“I go hard, and this is an audience that may not want it or be ready for it,” Pawlowski said, adding that the only guidance he got from Oland and organizers was to change a verse from “get the f— up” to “get the heck up.”
“And it worked out O.K.”
The competition will always be the hallmark of the world’s biggest amateur golf tournament, but now there’s a reason to hang ‘til the end at the 19th Hole.
