LBO Policies and General Information

American Golf and the City of Long Beach Department of Parks, Recreation & Marine are pleased to welcome you to the 34th Long Beach Open Golf Tournament, August 1st-4th, 2024 at El Dorado Park Golf Course.

American Golf will once again guarantee this year's purse at 73% of the entry fees. Their generous contributions over the years demonstrate their desire to make this the best independent professional event in the United States. In addition to the guaranteed purse, the tournament features a discounted practice round at each course, player food & beverages, complimentary range balls during the tournament and other amenities.

THE TOURNAMENT

The Long Beach Open is open to all professional golfers, and to 6 amateurs that have earned exemptions through the Long Beach Golf Festival’s qualification standards. The professional field is limited to 150 players.

The Long Beach Open will consist of 72 holes of stroke play, held August 1st-4th, 2024. After 36 holes, the field will be cut to 50 players and ties which could include amateurs if they make the cut. If the 36-hole cut includes more than 70 players, there will also be a 54-hole cut to 50 players and ties including amateurs.

ENTRY FEE & PAYMENT

The entry fee for professionals is $1,100. Registration may be done online at www.lbgolffestival.com. All standard entry fees may be paid by MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover. Credit cards are the only method of payment.

WAIT LIST

If the field of 150 professionals fills at any point prior to the tournament, we will create a Wait List. Players who signup online after it is full will be added to the Wait List online only at www.lbgolffestival.com where signup order will determine position on the List. Please be aware that sending an email or text 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. Once the player has been notified, he will have 24 hours to contact the Festival office and the credit card used to signup online will be charged. If 24 hours lapses with no response, that player is deemed to have withdrawn themselves from consideration, and the next player on the Wait List will be contacted.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 $40. Players who withdraw after the earlier of the close of regular Registration they will receive 50% back if we are able to fill their spot in the LB Open. Players who withdraw after the posting of Final Pairings but prior to the first day of the event will receive a refund of 50%, 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, July 31st 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 50% refund to Gary Johnson – Gjohnson@skylinksgc.com only. 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.

 

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

  • Friday, July 26th:  Deadline for Registration (11:59 PM, PDT)
  • Monday, July 29th:  Preliminary Pairings posted on the Long Beach Open tournament portal
  • Tuesday, July 30th:  Final Pairings posted on Long Beach Open tournament portal
  • Tuesday, July 30th:  Advance Player Check-In (El Dorado option)
  • Wednesday, July 31st:  Practice rounds at El Dorado
  • Wednesday, July 31st:  LBO Charity Pro-Am to benefit Partners of Parks
  • Thursday, August 1st:  First round at El Dorado
  • Friday, August 2nd:  Second round at El Dorado
  • Saturday, August 3rd:  Third Round at El Dorado Park
  • Sunday, August 4th:  Final Round at El Dorado Park; Awards ceremony at approximately 3:00 PM

PAIRINGS & TEE TIMES

All players will play two rounds at Eldorado Park Golf 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 29th 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 July 30th. 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 day at El Dorado (Tuesday, July 30th) 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. This is a public course, which has 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

Practice round dates are Tuesday, July 30th at El Dorado. To ensure your preferences in tee times for your practice rounds, it is strongly recommended that players schedule them no later than July 21st . Preferred tee times cannot be guaranteed after that date. Players may schedule their practice rounds at any time after registering for the tournament as follows:

  1. Call El Dorado Park Golf Courses directly.  The number for El Dorado is 562-430-5411, ext. 2.
  2. Inform them that you are playing in the Long Beach Open and that you would like to obtain a practice round time. If it is after July 21st, they will make every effort to assign you a practice round time based on what you ask for and what is available at the time you call. If you desire to play with someone specific, please have one player call for everyone in their group. 
  3. 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 $20, and it includes one bucket of range balls. It does not include cart rental.

Please observe the above procedure for obtaining practice round times. As an entrant in the Long Beach Open you are entitled to practice rounds on the designated days, but if you have not scheduled a tee time in advance you should expect to be put on a waiting list to play when you arrive. For any rounds played other than on official practice round days, you will be expected to pay the regular green fees.

Please note that the El Dorado Park Golf Course and practice range are closed on Wednesday, July 31st 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.

PRO-AM

Long Beach Open professionals are not required to play in the Pro-Am. Those that are interested in volunteering to play should indicate so in the space provided on their registration form. Professionals who have played in previous LBO Pro-Ams will be given the opportunity to volunteer first, with a deadline date for doing so of July 14th. The remaining field of professionals will then be filled by lottery, drawing from the names of those that indicated a desire to play when registering. The final field of Pro-Am professionals will be published on the tournament portal no later than July 28th.

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.

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.

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 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 2024 Long Beach Open will receive up to $25,000. All players who successfully complete 72 holes are guaranteed a minimum of $250. 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 $250. 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 $250.

The first-, second-, and third-place winners will be mailed their checks as soon as possible.  All other participants who have earned prize money will receive their checks by mail within 3-4 weeks.

Long Beach Open