Long Beach Open Player Agreement
THE TOURNAMENT
The Long Beach Open is open to all professional golfers, and to 9 amateurs that have earned exemptions through the Long Beach Golf Festival’s qualification standards. The professional field is limited to 303 players.
The Long Beach Open will consist of 72 holes of stroke play, held August 4-7, 2022. After 36 holes, the field will be cut to 60 professionals and ties, as well as 6 amateurs and ties. The amateurs do not count in the professional cut. If the 36-hole cut includes more than 70 professionals, there will also be a 54-hole cut to 60 professionals and ties, along with 6 amateurs and ties.
ENTRY FEE & PAYMENT
The entry fee for professionals is $825. Registration may be done online at www.lbgolffestival.com. All standard entry fees may be paid by MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover, cash, check, cashier's check, or money order. Credit cards are the preferred method of payment. Players may also register by U.S. mail. To do so, please call the tournament office at (562) 570-8163 to have a registration form sent. If registering by mail, the form and check must be received in the tournament office no later than July 27th. All returned checks will be turned over to a collection agency and are subject to a $50 handling charge in addition to any collection costs. All Late Registrations will be subject to a $50 additional fee, and can only be paid with credit card, cashier's check, or cash. No personal checks will be accepted with a Late Registration.
WAIT LIST
If the field of 303 professionals fills at any point prior to the tournament, we will create a Wait List. Players will be able to place their name on the Wait List by contacting the tournament office by phone (562-275-3321), or preferably by email (lbgolffestival@americangolf.com), where time-stamps will determine position on the List. Please be aware that sending a text to a tournament official, or simply leaving a voicemail at the tournament office does not guarantee that you have been placed on the Wait List.
When and if a position in the field becomes available, the player at the top of the Wait List will be contacted by email and/or phone (with a detailed voicemail left, as necessary). Once the player has been notified, he will have 24 hours to contact the Festival office to submit payment and secure a place in the field. If 24 hours lapses with no response, that player is deemed to have withdrawn themselves from consideration, and the next player on the Wait List will be contacted.
WITHDRAWALS & REFUNDS
Players who withdraw from the tournament prior to the earlier of (a) the close of regular Registration; or (b) the date that the field first becomes full, will receive a full refund, minus a service charge of $20. Players who withdraw after the earlier of (a) the close of regular Registration; or (b) the date that the field first becomes full, but prior to the posting of Final Pairings on August 1st will receive a full refund, minus a service charge of $75. Players who withdraw after the posting of Final Pairings but prior to the first day of the event will receive a refund of $725, only if they are replaced in the field. Players that do not appear for their tee time, are disqualified, or who withdraw after 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, August 3rd will not receive a refund. In cases of sickness, injury, or family emergency that precipitate a DNS (Did Not Start) designation, a player may petition for a full refund, minus a $100 service charge – final determination will be made by the Tournament Committee. No refunds will be granted for injury or illness sustained at the course during the days of the tournament.
ALL withdrawals must be received via email at lbgolffestival@americangolf.com in order to qualify for a refund. The time stamp of the email will be used to determine the amount of refund due, if any, per the policy delineated in the previous paragraph. Withdrawals attempted by texting a tournament official, or by calling the Long Beach Golf Festival office and leaving a voicemail will NOT be considered valid.
PAIRINGS & TEE TIMES
All players will play one round at each tournament course for their first two rounds. One of these rounds will be within the AM wave, whose tee times begin at 7:00 AM, and the other will be within the PM wave, whose tee times begin at 12:00 Noon. All players will remain within the same group for both Round 1 and Round 2. Pairings for Round 3 and Round 4 will be determined by aggregate 36- and 54-hole gross score, respectively.
Preliminary Pairings for Rounds 1 and 2 will be posted on July 28th on the Long Beach Open tournament portal. Players will receive an email with a link to the portal, and that link will also be posted on the Long Beach Golf Festival website (www.lbgolffestival.com). Final Pairings will be posted in the same manner on August 1st. Pairings for successive rounds will also appear on the Long Beach Open tournament portal.
In the vast majority of cases, a player's tee time will not change between Preliminary and Final postings. In those instances in which a player's tee time is altered between the two postings, it will rarely be moved more than one tee time forward or back. Players will be contacted by a Festival staff member directly in advance should the change in their tee time involve more material movement.
PLAYER CHECK-IN & PACKET PICK-UP
Players will have the option of checking in and picking up their player packages in advance on the official practice days at El Dorado (Tuesday, August 2nd) or Skylinks (Wednesday, August 3rd) from 9:00 AM through 5:00 PM. Players that cannot make it to either of these Advance Check-In days must otherwise check in with officials at Tournament Headquarters prior to their first round.
Player packages will include a money clip, which serves as ID during tournament week. Please wear this on your belt or hat any time you are on the driving range or putting green. These are public courses, which have been closed during the tournament, and the display of player IDs will be very helpful in enforcing this closure. In addition, the player ID will ensure the seamless receipt of the player’s complimentary daily meal on tournament days.
PRACTICE ROUNDS
As an entrant in the Long Beach Open, you are entitled to reduced green fee practice rounds on the designated practice round days. That rate is $25, and it includes one bucket of range balls. It does not include cart rental.
Practice round dates are Tuesday, August 2nd at El Dorado, and Wednesday, August 3rd at Skylinks. To ensure your preferences in tee times for your practice rounds, it is strongly recommended that players schedule them no later than July 22nd. Preferred tee times cannot be guaranteed after that date. Players may schedule their practice rounds at any time after registering for the tournament, using the process described on the LBO Policies & General Information page of the Festival website (www.lbgolffestival.com).
The El Dorado course and practice range are closed on Wednesday, August 3rd for the Long Beach Open Charity Pro-Am To Benefit Partners of Parks. Upon the conclusion of the Pro-Am, the practice putting greens and short game areas will be open to registered Long Beach Open competitors. These areas will be closely monitored to ensure their use exclusively by LBO competitors, so please make sure to bring your player ID money clip should you plan to make use of these practice facilities on that date.
GOLF CARTS
Carts are allowed for players and their caddies only (at player’s expense). The golf cart rental terms and conditions are governed by the golf courses themselves, and not by the Long Beach Open or the Long Beach Golf Festival. Spectator carts will not be allowed during the tournament, with the sole exception being that of carts requested due to physical handicaps. In those instances, a Disabled Spectator Cart agreement must be obtained from a tournament staff member and returned to the onsite Tournament Headquarters along with proof of disability (e.g. a handicapped driver hangtag, placard, etc.) The handicapped spectator will then be given a golf cart placard to bring to the golf shop when paying for a cart rental.
No spectators will be allowed to ride in carts with players at any time during tournament play. Please note that, due to this policy, anyone (other than a fellow competitor) that rides in a player’s cart immediately becomes, by definition, that player’s caddie—potentially placing the player in breach of the rules pertaining to multiple caddies.
CADDIES
Caddies are allowed, but players are reminded that individuals designated as caddies are therefore subject to the USGA Rules of Golf. Specifically, a rules violation by a caddie is the same as a rules violation by their player.
DRESS CODE
All players must wear appropriate professional golf attire. Players may not wear shorts, tank tops, tee shirts or jeans. Caddies must wear collared shirts, but they may wear shorts, as long as they are not denim, gym shorts, or swimwear/board shorts.
PLAYER CONDUCT
Unprofessional behavior will not be tolerated. Abusive, threatening or vulgar language or club throwing may result in disqualification. Misrepresentation of ability level could also result in disqualification with no refund, at the discretion of the Tournament Committee.
PLAYER EARNINGS & DISTRIBUTION
The winner of the 2022 Long Beach Open will receive $33,000. All players who successfully complete 72 holes are guaranteed a minimum of $825. All players who successfully complete 54 holes but do not complete 72 holes, due to injury, illness, or as a result of missing the secondary cut, will receive $500. All players who successfully complete 36 holes and make the cut, but do not successfully complete 54 holes due to injury or illness will receive $400.
The 1st- 3rd place winners will be mailed their checks within 5 business days. All other participants who have earned prize money will receive their checks by mail within 2-3 weeks.
RIGHT TO USE IMAGE
By taking part in a Long Beach Golf Festival event, players (and by extension their caddies) agree to the following:
“I grant to the Long Beach Golf Festival and American Golf Corporation (collectively “AGC”), the right to take photographs or videos of me in connection with Festival events for which I have registered. I authorize AGC, its assigns and representative to copyright, use, edit, and publish the same in print and/or electronically.
“I agree that AGC may use such photographs or videos of me without payment or any other consideration for any lawful purpose, including, but not limited to for purposes such as publicity, illustration, advertising, and Web content. I understand and agree that the photographs or videos will become the property of AGC.”