The Senior National Championship will be contested from September 4-7, 2012, while the National Championship will be contested from September 10-13, 2012. Both championships will be held in beautiful Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, located just outside Jacksonville.

The deadline for entry into the National Championships and Senior National Championships is Wednesday, August 22 at 11:59PM, EST. Absolutely no late entries will be allowed.

All National Championships courses are located in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, located about 30 miles from the Jacksonville airport. Players flying in are advised of the following airports and (approximate) miles from TPC Sawgrass:

Senior National Championships
This will vary on personal preference. Players may arrive as early as they wish, although the majority of players will arrive 1-4 days in advance for practice rounds, etc. All contestants are required to check-in with the tournament committee by 10PM on Monday, September 3, 2012.

National Championships
This will vary on personal preference. Players may arrive as early as they wish, although the majority of players will arrive 1-4 days in advance for practice rounds, etc. All participants are required to check-in with the tournament committee by 10PM on Sunday, September 9, 2012.

Senior National Championships
The Senior National Championship is scheduled to finish on September 7, 2012 at 7PM. It is strongly recommended that the departure date is September 8, 2012. Please be advised that inclement weather can delay finishing times. Please make travel plans accordingly.

National Championships
The National Championship is scheduled to finish on September 13, 2012 at 7PM. It is strongly recommended that the departure date is September 14, 2012. Please be advised that inclement weather can delay finishing times. Please make travel plans accordingly.

Yes. Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa is the official host hotel of the 2012 National Championships and will be the venue for the Players Dinner and Nightly Scoring/Social Functions. All four host courses are located within 10 minutes of the resort. National Championships participants and their guests will receive the exclusive “Players Only” rate of $135 per night. This rate is good four days before and after the Senior National Championship and the National Championship and includes:

• All taxes
• In Room Coffee
• Daily Newspaper
• 24 hour access to Health Club
• Cabana Club Beach Access
• Hotel Transportation to Cabana Beach Club, TPC Sawgrass Golf Courses, and Sawgrass Shopping Village

In addition to the standard room listed above, the following special rates are also available and also include the aforementioned amenities:

-One Bedroom Island Green Villa Suite ($199/night)
-One Bedroom Main Building Suite ($399/night)

To reserve a room, please call the Sawgrass Marriott directly at 904-285-7777.
Participants must notify the reservation agent that they are with the Golf Channel Amateur Tour to receive this special rate. Rooms are subject to availability and should be booked as soon as possible. For more information on the resort, visit Sawgrass Marriott.

The Senior National Championship and National Championship are 72-hole individual stroke play competitions with no cut. Every contestant will have a scheduled round at each of the four courses. All play will be primarily in threesomes for pace of play. USGA rules are in effect at all times during play.

TPC Sawgrass – PLAYERS Stadium
TPC Sawgrass – Dye’s Valley
Ponte Vedra Inn & Club – Ocean
Ponte Vedra Inn & Club – Lagoon

The course rotation, along with tee times and pairings for rounds 1 and 2 will be determined and published no later than 5PM EST on Friday, August 31. Every contestant will have a scheduled round at each course, weather permitting.

Every effort will be made to complete 72 holes should there be delays due to inclement weather. Should a course be deemed unplayable or dangerous because lightning is eminent, the Senior and National Championship may be reduced to a shortened number of holes. Players are advised to be prepared in the case of inclement weather.

All Local Tours may qualify up to 25% of their Tour Players. Tour Players who have qualified through a Major Championship, Past National Champion, Top Five and ties from 2011 National Championship will not count against a Tour’s % allotment. In order to receive an invitation to compete in the National Championships, a player must be both “Eligible” and “Qualified”:

Eligibility
A Tour Player becomes eligible for the National Championships by completing five (5) tournament rounds on Tour with the following restriction:

A) One (1) of the rounds must come on/after June 1, 2012 A tournament round is considered a posted 18-hole tournament score Qualified Players

The following is how players can qualify for the 2012 National Championships:

A) Past National Champions

B) Top 5 and ties from 2011 National Championships

C) Any player who earns a promotion to a lower flight from Nov 2, 2011-Aug 2, 2012

D) Top 3 and ties from any 2012 Major Championship

E) Any player who wins three times on Tour (non major)

F) Top 3, not exempt in any other category, from the 2012 Order of Merit

G) Top finisher, not exempt in another category, from the “Summer Series”

H) Top finisher, not already exempt, from the local (home) Tour Championship Qualifiers for the Senior and National Championship must be a member in good standing with Tour. A position in the field is not guaranteed and is limited to the first 150 in each flight and 600 per Championship.

All payouts from the National Championships will conform to and not exceed the maximum allowable amounts under USGA rules regarding Amateur Status. Payouts will consist of trophies, gift certificates and/or equipment/products. Prize and flight breakdowns will be available at the tournament.

Yes, an optional skins game will be made available to all interested players. All skins game entries must be paid in cash on-site at tournament check-in. No late skins entries or entries taken at the course will be accepted.The skins game will apply for all four rounds of the tournament. The cost is $25/day for a total buy-in of $100. No partial entries will be allowed. A skin is won by having the lowest score with no ties on a particular hole against players from your own flight only. Skins game results will be posted and paid out at the nightly scoring functions at the Sawgrass Marriott each evening. Any winnings that are not picked up and signed for by a player will be mailed out the week of September 17.

If not one skin is won for a single day those monies will be carried over to the following day’s skins game and added to the pot. If no skins are won on the last day, all players involved in that skins game will be placed into a drawing and four (4) player names will be drawn. Each player that is selected in the random drawing will be awarded with ¼ of the total pot.

Any tie for 1st place after four rounds of play will result in an on-course playoff immediately following play, weather and course permitting.

Yardages and flight tee assignments for each course will be posted soon.

Yes. Caddies are the responsibility of the associated player and are requested to practice proper golf etiquette. If there is an issue with the behavior of a spectator(s), or caddie(s), the individual(s) will be asked to leave the premises. Per USGA Rule 6.1, the player incurs the applicable penalty for any breach of a rule by his/her caddie, including unsportsmanlike conduct.

Spectators and/or caddies are not permitted in a player golf cart at anytime. Carts are for the sole use of the players. Any spectator or caddie found riding in a golf cart may result in the immediate disqualification of the player(s) who are associated with the violating spectator(s) and/or caddie(s) at the National Championships.

Spectators are welcome at the National Championships provided they do not interfere with pace of play. Spectators are the responsibility of the player they are watching and must remain out of play and practice proper golf etiquette at all times.

Spectators and/or caddies are not permitted in a player golf cart at anytime.Carts are for the sole use of the players only. Any spectator or caddie found riding in a golf cart may result in the immediate disqualification of the player(s) who are associated with the violating spectator(s) and/or caddie(s) at the 2012 National Championships.SPECTATOR CARTS NOT AVAILABLE.

Tee times and pairings for the first two rounds, along with the course rotation for each flight will be posted online and emailed to players by 5PM EST on August 30. Players will be re-paired according to score for the 3rd round and the final round. Tee times and pairings will be available at each nightly scoring function at the Sawgrass Marriott.

All players will have a scheduled round, weather permitting, on each of the four host courses and there will be no cut. The possibility exists that a round(s) may be cancelled or shortened due to inclement weather.

Players may book practice rounds by calling and reserving a tee time as follows:

TPC SAWGRASS
Practice rounds may be reserved on a space-available basis by calling 904-285-7777 at the following rates:

• PLAYERS Stadium - $220 (Sawgrass Marriott Hotel Guest) or $270 (non-Sawgrass Marriott Hotel Guest)
• Dye’s Valley - $125 (Sawgrass Marriott Hotel Guest) or $175 (non-Sawgrass Marriott Hotel Guest)
• Please note above rates do not include tax (6%)

PONTE VEDRA INN & CLUB
Practice rounds may be reserved on a space available basis and may only be made two weeks in advance by calling 904-285-1111 at the following rates:

• Ocean Course – $107.06 (inclusive of tax)
• Lagoon Course – $96.46 (inclusive of tax)

Senior National Championships
The Senior National Championship Players Dinner will be held on Monday, September 3 at 7PM in the Champions Ballroom at Sawgrass Marriott. Golf Channel on-air talent will be on site at the host hotel to discuss current headlines and provide tournament insight.

National Championships
The National Championship Players Dinner will be held on Sunday, September 9 at 7PM in the Champions Ballroom at Sawgrass Marriott. Golf Channel on-air talent will be on site at the host hotel to discuss current headlines and provide tournament insight.

The awards ceremony will take place for each flight immediately following that flight’s play on the final round at the corresponding golf course. As there is no cut again in 2012, final rounds may be played at any of the four host courses for this year’s championship. The site of the respective awards presentation will be the TPC Sawgrass Clubhouse and Ponte Vedra Inn & Club Clubhouse, depending on what flight is playing there.

The tournament committee will look and monitor each contestant’s Tour Index using scores shot in Tour events and will ensure that each player is flighted properly according to the rules and regulations in the Player Handbook – http://www.gcamtour.com/rules-and-regulations/player-handbook

• $75 cancellation fee for any withdrawal up until Wednesday, August 22, 2012 at 11:59PM EST.
• $400 cancellation fee for any withdrawal between 11:59PM EST. on August 22, 2012 and 6:00PM EST on August 31, 2012.
• No refunds after August 31, 2012.

Sawgrass Marriott
1000 PGA Tour BLVD
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082
800-457-4653

TPC Sawgrass Clubhouse
110 Championship Way
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082
904-273-3235

Ponte Vedra Inn & Club
200 Ponte Vedra BLVD
Ponte Vedra, FL 32082
904-285-1111

Eligible and qualified players can register on the official Tour home pages by clicking the following:

Click here to register for the National Championships

Click here to register for the Senior National Championships

No. We currently only accept credit cards and/or debit cards for online registration. If a player does not have a credit card or debit card, he/she can mail a cashier’s check or money order made out to Golf Channel Am Tour and mailed to:

Golf Channel Am Tour

Attn: Colin Turner/National Championship
7580 Golf Channel Drive
Orlando, FL 32819

Please note that your entry must be received by August 18, 2012 and you will not be entered into the event until the funds have cleared.