Story by Bob Gillespie and Chris King 

George Bryan IV said he was at a loss for words Friday after the second round of the Myrtle Beach Classic at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club. Of course, we’re talking about a guy who produces YouTube videos for a living and is constantly speaking into a camera … so yeah, he found a few words.

Still, it was all a new experience, he said.

Bryan, who along with brother Wesley (pictured right)  has been all over social media since 2014 with their Bryan Bros trick shot and instructional golf videos, was competing in only his second PGA Tour event ever, and the first in his home state. Wesley Bryan, by comparison, has played in more than 100 Tour competitions and won the 2017 RBC Heritage, so his excitement level was something less than his older brother’s.

By Tour standards, the two days were hardly what each brother had hoped for. George IV shot 73-70, 1-over par, and was a likely 36-hole cut victim. Meanwhile, Wesley’s 1-under total, after rounds of 70-71, was flirting with the same fate.

But especially for “G4,” as friends and family call the older brother, the past two days were essentially a dream come true. Not only did he get to test his game against PGA Tour competition, but he did so in front of a contingent of family (father George III, mother Valerie and others) and friends, which made it truly special.

“The first tee shot (Thursday), it all goes silent, and then I hear (son) Andy yell, ‘Hooray, daddy,’” Bryan said, and grinned. “I melted (and) I’ve never melted on the golf course, where I didn’t even know if I was going to make contact (with the ball).

“It was really cool to look back on and be like, man, so many memories were made.”
Bryan knew when he received a sponsor’s exemption into the 132-player field that he was a long shot to be playing on the weekend, given his limited tournament resume. But that, he said, really wasn’t the point.

“(I) really didn’t know what to expect, but I knew it was going to be special one way or the other – regardless of whether I shot 80-80 or 65-65,” he said. “To shoot 73-70 was something that I’m going to remember for a long time.

“To feel my mom, my dad (and others) being here to watch, and then local friends, was amazing. Yeah, we had a massive gallery the whole two days. One guy (him) that does full-time YouTube, another guy (Wesley) that does full-time YouTube and pro golf … to feel the support and to see it, to tangibly see it, was incredible.
“All in all, (it was) a special week, a fun week, and I’m excited for the future.”

Bramlett’s hot streak propels him into contention

Joseph Bramlett, one of two players of African-American descent on the PGA Tour (Tiger Woods is the other), turned an even-par start Friday into a string of five consecutive birdies and a five-under 66, vaulting him into a seven-way tie for eighth through 36 holes Friday.

“Yeah, that was the highlight right there,” he said of birdies at Nos. 15-18 – he played the back nine first – and another at the first hole. “I played well (Thursday, shooting 3-under 68), and got into a really good rhythm about 6-7 holes into the round. I just kept riding it.”

Bramlett had a birdie and a bogey before his putter ignited at the par-5 15th. “I made a lot of good putts,” he said. “I had a couple more that could’ve gone in, but all in all, a really good day.”
He credited much of that hot streak to improved consistency with his driver. “I drove it awesome today; it’s been a little up-and-down with the driver lately (but) I just got in a really good rhythm. I kind of just got aggressive and hit some good ones and got hot.”

That was a satisfying change for Bramlett, who’d narrowly missed three straight cuts entering the week. “Missed by one, two, one (shots) the past three weeks,” he said. “Thankfully this week, not only did (I) make the weekend, but we’re in contention.”

Late surge lifts McGirt into weekend

William McGirt, who makes his home in Bluffton, birdied his final two holes Friday to shoot 2-under 69 and make the Myrtle Beach Classic’s midway cut on the number (2-under for two rounds). His closing surge included a 40-foot putt on the eighth hole and a 20-footer on the last. That continued a recent streak for McGirt: in Monday qualifying at TPC Myrtle Beach to earn a spot in this week’s tournament, he needed an eagle on the final hole to get into the field – and made it.

Hands across the sea link MacIntyre, Laurinburg

First-round co-leader Robert MacIntyre (pictured right) is a proud son of Oban, a town of 24,000 in western Scotland, but he got a boost Friday afternoon from a fan base a bit closer to Myrtle Beach.
The 2023 European Ryder Cup team member was scheduled to meet with a delegation from

Laurinburg, N.C., who drove to The Dunes Golf & Beach Club to meet with MacIntyre after his round. Oban and Laurinburg are “sister cities” under an international program of friendship, and Laurinburg’s city website cites its “deep roots of Scottish background.”

From the cutline to contention
Trace Crowe’s second round 63 attracted much of the attention, but he wasn’t the only player who made a big move Friday. 

● Patton Kizzire, who shot a 1-under 70 on Thursday, fired a bogey-free 65 to move up 35 spots on the leaderboard, putting himself in position to contend entering the weekend. He enters the weekend at 7-under par and tied for 15th. A two-time Tour winner, Kizzire got off to a slow start, missing six consecutive cuts, but he has finished T23 (Puntacana), T28 (Zurich Classic) and T24 (CJ Cup), hinting that a strong week was on the horizon. 

● Matt Wallace was facing a much more tenuous position after shooting a 1-over par 72 on Thursday, but the Englishman caught fire on the back nine at The Dunes Club. After playing the front in 1-under, Wallace birdied holes 10, 11, 12 and 13 before sticking his approach from 200 yards to 15 feet and making eagle on the 15th. Wallace’s 7-under round moved him from 89th place after round 1 to 6-under on the week and a tie for 19th place.