The 18th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational Golf Tournament

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The 19 th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, February 18, 2025—The 19 th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational was contested on Monday, February 17, 2025 at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The field of eighty-four players braved the cold and wind for the chance to be named Invitational Champions and to hoist the coveted Obelisk of Victory which had been damaged in a freak accident in late 2024. The competition started at noon with a shotgun start.

The results of The Invitational were announced in the ballroom at 5:15 PM.
First Place Team: Morgan Deneen, Dylan Roof, Billy Jones, Mark Wright (-12)
Second Place Team: Dylan Lane, Stephen Lane, Greg Johnson, Dale Prox (-10)
Third Place Team: Bryan Davenport, Seth Davenport, Reed Smith, Walker Soucek 1 (-7)

At 5:25 PM local time, the Executive Committee announced that 2026 will mark the twentieth year that The Robert M. Clinger III Invitational will be contested. To commemorate this milestone event, Mr. Clinger will host a celebration gala and other events the weekend of February 14-15, 2026. The festivities will culminate with golfers contesting The 20 th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational on Monday, February 16, 2026. The 20 th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational is currently open only to select past participants. More information regarding the Invitational can be found on the tournament website, http://www.ClingerInvitational.com.

1 Third place was decided by a scorecard playoff.

About Mr. Clinger—Robert M. Clinger III is the founder of Highland Global Business Valuations, a strategic advisory and business valuation consultancy. He has strong experience in the fields of business valuation, financial analysis, and mergers and acquisitions of privately-held enterprises. Mr. Clinger earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Finance, summa cum laude, from Coastal Carolina University and received the distinguished President’s award.

Mr. Clinger has also earned the Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) designation from the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA), the Certified Business Appraiser (CBA) designation from the Institute of Business Appraisers (IBA), and the Licensed International Financial Analyst (LIFA) from the International Research Association.

About The Dunes Golf & Beach Club—The Dunes Golf & Beach Club was built in 1948 and remains the premier country club in Myrtle Beach. The course was designed by Robert Trent Jones and has ranked in the top 100
courses in the nation for much of its history. The Dunes Club hosted the 2014 PGA Professional National Championship, six Senior Tour Championships in the 1990s, one USGA Women’s Open and several PGA Tour Q-School finals. The Dunes Club is also the host of the PGA Tour’s One Flight Myrtle Beach Classic.

Press Contact:
The Robert M. Clinger III Invitational Executive Committee
http://www.ClingerInvitational.com

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The 18th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational Golf Tournament

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The 18th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational


Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, February 20, 2024—The 18th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational was contested on Monday, February 19, 2024 at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Eighty players ranging in age from thirteen to eighty-two competed for the coveted Obelisk of Victory and the title of Invitational Champions. The competition began shortly before noon with a shotgun start, and players enjoyed sunny but chilly and breezy weather conditions. This marks the third year in a row with generally favorable weather conditions, a trend that has historically been uncharacteristic of The Invitational.
The Dunes Golf & Beach Club Head Professional Holden Patterson, PGA, presented the results of The Invitational in the ballroom at 5:00 PM.


First Place Team: Morgan Deneen, Brad Hornick, Dannyelle Hornick, Cole Hornick (-12)
Second Place Team: Robert M. Clinger III, Larry Yarnell, Steve Vogel, Greg Brastow1 (-7)
Third Place Team: Wilson Gandy, Lawrence Whitney, Collins Wakefield, Jackie Stokes (-7)

Morgan Deneen scored the first hole-in-one in the history of The Invitational on the fifth hole (“Ambush”). Ironically, the ace didn’t count on the scorecard for the winning team, as they were required to use the tee shot of another player2.

The Executive Committee certified these results at 5:13 PM local time and announced the projected date of the 19th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational as Monday, February 17, 2025. The 19th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational is currently closed to new participants.

1 Second place was decided by a scorecard playoff.
2 By rule, every team must use each player’s tee shot twice on holes 1-9 and 10-18. The fifth hole was their final hole, and they had yet to use the second tee shot of another player; thus, Mr. Deneen’s hole-in-one wasn’t reflected on their scorecard.

More information regarding the Invitational can be found on the tournament website, http://www.ClingerInvitational.com.

About Mr. Clinger—Robert M. Clinger III is the founder of Highland Global Business Valuations, a strategic advisory and business valuation consultancy. He has strong experience in the fields of business valuation, financial analysis, and mergers and acquisitions of privately-held enterprises. Mr. Clinger earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Finance, summa cum laude, from Coastal Carolina University and received the distinguished President’s award. Mr. Clinger has also earned the Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) designation from the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA), the Certified Business Appraiser (CBA) designation from the Institute of Business Appraisers (IBA), and the Licensed International Financial Analyst (LIFA) from the International Research Association.

About The Dunes Golf & Beach Club—The Dunes Golf & Beach Club was built in 1948 and, after seventy-five years, remains the premier country club in Myrtle Beach. The course was designed by Robert Trent Jones and has ranked in the top 100 courses in the nation for much of its history. The Dunes Club hosted the 2014 PGA Professional National Championship, six Senior Tour Championships in the 1990s, one USGA Women’s Open and several PGA Tour Q-School finals. The Dunes Club is also the host of the PGA Tour’s Myrtle Beach Classic starting in May 2024.

Press Contact:
The Robert M. Clinger III Invitational Executive Committee
http://www.ClingerInvitational.com

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The 17th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational Golf Tournament

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The 17th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational Golf Tournament

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, February 21, 2023—The 17th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational was held on Monday, February 20, 2023 at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  Competition commenced shortly after 12:00 PM with a shotgun start.  Sixty-eight players enjoyed sunny skies, with no chance of rain, light winds and a high of nearly seventy degrees as they competed for the Obelisk of Victory.        

At the completion of the competition, the winners were announced following lunch in the ballroom at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club.  

First Place Team:  EJ Golden, Chuck Seward, Jameson Hardee, Wes Myers (-12)

Second Place Team: Stephen Kann, Enzo Farrar, John Gooden, Hunter Stokes (-10)

Third Place Team:  Marc Devereux, Bill Young, Philip Coggin, Tommy Brittain, Lee Proctor[1]  (-7)

The Executive Committee certified these results at 4:57 PM local time.  The projected date of the 18th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational was announced as Monday, February 18, 2024.  The 18th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational is currently closed to non-member and non-employee participants.  The event disbanded at 7:30 PM.   

More information regarding the Invitational can be found on the tournament website, www.ClingerInvitational.com.

About Mr. Clinger—Robert M. Clinger III is the founder of Highland Global Business Valuations, a strategic advisory and business valuation consultancy. He has strong experience in the fields of business valuation, financial analysis, and mergers and acquisitions of privately-held enterprises.  Mr. Clinger earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Finance, summa cum laude, from Coastal Carolina University and received the distinguished President’s award.  Mr. Clinger has also earned the Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) designation from the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA), the Certified Business Appraiser (CBA) designation from the Institute of Business Appraisers (IBA), and the Licensed International Financial Analyst (LIFA) for the International Research Association. 

About The Dunes Golf & Beach Club—The Dunes Golf & Beach Club is a private golf club built in 1948.  It is recognized as one of Robert Trent Jones’ finest designs. Since its inception, it has proved to be a world class course, offering the best in golf and member services.  The course has consistently been rated the number 1 golf course in Myrtle Beach by Golf Digest, Golfweek and Golf Magazine.  “Waterloo”, hole 13, is the signature hole of the Dunes Club. “Waterloo” has received many accolades and awards as one of the greatest golf holes in the world.  The Dunes Club hosted the 2014 PGA Professional National Championship, six Senior Tour Championships, one Women’s US Open and several PGA Tour Q-School finals.  The Dunes Club will host the PGA Tour’s Myrtle Beach Classic in May 2024.

Press Contact:

The Robert M. Clinger III Invitational Executive Committee

www.ClingerInvitational.com

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[1] The third place finish of 65 (-7) was decided by a scorecard playoff whereby the winners defeated the teams of Trever Rogan, Brett Schumock, Blake Brown & Wilson Gandy and Tom Rice, Lucas Rice & Logan Hjelm.

The 16th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational Golf Tournament

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, February 22, 2022—The 16th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational was held on Monday, February 21, 2022 at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Unlike prior years, the 2022 event was marked by mild weather, plenty of sunshine, low winds and no precipitation with the temperature reaching a high of 66 degrees by the shotgun start at noon. The international field included 80 players who competed intensely to secure the coveted Obelisk of Victory.
 

Two teams were tied at 61 (-11). The Executive Committee, professional staff and the competitors agreed to a chip off on the oceanfront lawn to break the tie . Each player was allowed one shot at the flag placed 110 yards from the tee area. Following the chip off, the winners were announced:

First Place Team: Morgan Deneen, Malene Kroboll, Scott Gardner, Mark Stoffel

Second Place Team: Michael Groce, Will Wireman, Kyle Hill, Shane Peters

Third Place Team: Dennis Nicholl, Erik Golden, Logan Hjelm, Trever Rogan

The Executive Committee certified these results at 5:53 PM local time. The projected date of the 17th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational was announced as Monday, February 20, 2023. The event disbanded at 7:18 PM.

More information regarding the Invitational can be found on the tournament website, http://www.ClingerInvitational.com.

About Mr. Clinger—Robert M. Clinger III is the founder of Highland Global Business Valuations, a strategic advisory and business valuation consultancy. He has strong experience in the fields of business valuation, financial analysis, and mergers and acquisitions of privately-held enterprises.  Mr. Clinger earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Finance, summa cum laude, from Coastal Carolina University and received the distinguished President’s award.  Mr. Clinger has also earned the Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) designation from the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA), the Certified Business Appraiser (CBA) designation from the Institute of Business Appraisers (IBA), and the Licensed International Financial Analyst (LIFA) for the International Research Association. 

About The Dunes Golf & Beach Club—The Dunes Golf & Beach Club is a private golf club built in 1948.  It is recognized as one of Robert Trent Jones’ finest designs. Since its inception, it has proved to be a world class course, offering the best in golf and member services.  The course has a rating of 75.7 and a slope rating of 144.  Each hole has its own descriptive name to give golfers an idea of what to expect before they tee off. “Waterloo”, hole 13, is the signature hole of the Dunes Club. “Waterloo” has received many accolades and awards as one of the greatest golf holes in the world. 

Press Contact:

The Robert M. Clinger III Invitational Executive Committee

www.ClingerInvitational.com

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The 15th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational Golf Tournament At The Dunes Golf & Beach Club

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, February 22, 2021—The 15th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational was contested on Monday, February 15, 2021 at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  The event was preceded by three days of torrential rain, high winds, and frigid temperatures which left the course waterlogged and closed for several days.  Luckily, the rain subsided Sunday night and the course drained sufficiently for the tournament to proceed on time with a noon shotgun start.  Though the weather remained cold and windy, the field of 53 players was undaunted.      

When the results were in, three teams were tied at 62 (-10).  With daylight running short and insufficient to accommodate The Invitational’s sudden death format (a three-hole cumulative playoff contested on holes 10, 11 and 13), the Executive Committee, professional staff and the competitors agreed to a chip off on the oceanfront lawn.  The rest of the field watched from the warmth of the Dunes Golf & Beach Club ballroom as the teams attempted to negotiate the 75 yard shot directly into the wind whipping off the ocean.  Following the chip off, the winners were announced:

First Place Team:  Michael Groce, Jimmy Gilliam, Will Wireman, Jason Dalton

Second Place Team: Dennis Nicholl, Joel Boulanger, Holden Patterson, Erik Golden

Third Place Team:  Brian Davenport, Seth Davenport, Bill White

The Executive Committee certified these results shortly after 7:00 PM local time.  The participants and guests celebrated the 15th Anniversary of the event with a brief champagne toast.  The projected date of the 16th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational was announced as Monday, February 21, 2022.  The event disbanded at 7:40 PM.   

More information regarding the Invitational can be found on the tournament website, www.ClingerInvitational.com.

About Mr. Clinger—Robert M. Clinger III is the founder of Highland Global Business Valuations, a strategic advisory and business valuation consultancy. He has strong experience in the fields of business valuation, financial analysis, and mergers and acquisitions of privately-held enterprises.  Mr. Clinger earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Finance, summa cum laude, from Coastal Carolina University and received the distinguished President’s award.  Mr. Clinger has also earned the Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) designation from the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA), the Certified Business Appraiser (CBA) designation from the Institute of Business Appraisers (IBA), and the Licensed International Financial Analyst (LIFA) for the International Research Association. 

About The Dunes Golf & Beach Club—The Dunes Golf & Beach Club is a private golf club built in 1948.  It is recognized as one of Robert Trent Jones’ finest designs. Since its inception, it has proved to be a world class course, offering the best in golf and member services.  The course has a rating of 75.7 and a slope rating of 144.  Each hole has its own descriptive name to give golfers an idea of what to expect before they tee off. “Waterloo”, hole 13, is the signature hole of the Dunes Club. “Waterloo” has received many accolades and awards as one of the greatest golf holes in the world. 

Press Contact:

The Robert M. Clinger III Invitational Executive Committee

www.ClingerInvitational.com

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The 14th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational Golf Tournament At The Dunes Golf & Beach Club

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, February 27, 2020—The Executive Committee of The Robert M. Clinger III Invitational is pleased to announce the results of the 14th annual golf tournament contested on Monday, February 17, 2020 at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  After a generally overcast morning, the sky cleared and the temperature climbed to the upper 60s for the second year in a row.  Most notably, there was an absence of wind and rain during the tournament.  These factors may have contributed to the 60 player turnout and the record setting low score for The Invitational.      

The tournament record 61 (-11) set in 2017and matched at the 2018 event was bested by the team of Dennis Nicholl, Joel Boulanger, Luis Ruiz and Morgan Deneen who posted a score of 59 (-13).  Second and third place was decided by a scorecard playoff as two teams posted a score of 64 (-8).  The Invitational’s sudden death format is a three hole cumulative scorecard playoff.  The first round of sudden death is contested on holes 10, 11 and 13.  After the first scorecard sudden death round, the second place team was announced:  Robert M. Clinger III, Steven Vogel, Larry Yarnell and Greg Brastow.  The team of Marshall Bryant, Chad Catoe, James Ebert and Art Niave took third place.

On a sad note, the Executive Committee announced that long-time participant, Chuck Fitch, passed away unexpectedly in December 2019.  Chuck was the only participant other than Mr. Clinger to have participated in all prior events.  This year also marked the first time where none of the original participants, other than Mr. Clinger, were present in any capacity at The Invitational.  

The Executive Committee certified the results shortly after 7:00 PM local time and the event disbanded at 7:15 PM.   

More information regarding the Invitational can be found on the tournament website, www.ClingerInvitational.com.

About Mr. Clinger—Robert M. Clinger III is the founder of Highland Global Business Valuations, a strategic advisory and business valuation consultancy, and Thinking Outside the Boxe, an independent think tank. He has strong experience in the fields of business valuation, financial analysis, and mergers and acquisitions of privately-held enterprises.  Mr. Clinger earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Finance, summa cum laude, from Coastal Carolina University and received the distinguished President’s award.  Mr. Clinger has also earned the Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) designation from the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA), the Certified Business Appraiser (CBA) designation from the Institute of Business Appraisers (IBA), and the Licensed International Financial Analyst (LIFA) for the International Research Association. 

About The Dunes Golf & Beach Club—The Dunes Golf & Beach Club is a private golf club built in 1948.  It is recognized as one of Robert Trent Jones’ finest designs. Since its inception, it has proved to be a world class course, offering the best in golf and member services.  The course has a rating of 75.7 and a slope rating of 144.  Each hole has its own descriptive name to give golfers an idea of what to expect before they tee off. “Waterloo”, hole 13, is the signature hole of the Dunes Club. “Waterloo” has received many accolades and awards as one of the greatest golf holes in the world. 

Press Contact:

The Robert M. Clinger III Invitational Executive Committee

www.ClingerInvitational.com

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The 13th Annual Robert M. Clinger III Invitational Golf Tournament at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, February 22, 2019—The Executive Committee of The Robert M. Clinger III Invitational is pleased to announce the results of the 13th annual golf tournament held on Monday, February 20, 2019 at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. After a morning of rain and dark clouds, the weather cleared shortly before the noon shotgun start of the event. The afternoon brought moderate winds, sunny skies, and a high temperature of 70 degrees. The markedly different conditions from the prior year’s event came much to the satisfaction of the field of sixty competitors.

Despite the favourable weather and stiff competition, the tournament record 61 (-11) set in 2017and matched at the 2018 event was not threatened by this year’s competitors. However, for the first time in the event’s history, three teams posted scores of 63 (-9), requiring a sudden death playoff to decide the winners. The Invitational’s sudden death format is a three hole cumulative score playoff. The first round of sudden death is contested on holes 10, 11 and 13. Unfortunately, with daylight running short, the Executive Committee decided to follow the same sudden death format using the posted scorecards to determine the winners and the second and third place finishers. After the first scorecard sudden death round, the winning team was announced: Marshall Bryant, Chad Catoe, Bill King, and Lee Cornelius. To determine the second and third place teams, the second scorecard sudden death round consisting of holes 14, 15, and 16 resulted in another tie. The third scorecard sudden death round consisting of holes 2, 3, and 4 also resulted in a tie. However, the fourth scorecard sudden death round of holes 6, 7, and 18 resulted in the team of Rich Abraham, Chris Abraham, Tod Mallory and Patrick O’Brian securing a second place finish and the team of Josh Wright, Mike Marino, Lawrence Whitney and Tommy Brittain securing the third place finish.

The Executive Committee certified the results shortly after 6:30 PM local time and the event disbanded at 7:00 PM.

More information regarding the Invitational can be found on the tournament website, http://www.ClingerInvitational.com.

About Mr. Clinger—Robert M. Clinger III is the founder of Highland Global Business Valuations, a strategic advisory and business valuation consultancy, and Thinking Outside the Boxe, an independent think tank. He has strong experience in the fields of business valuation, financial analysis, and mergers and acquisitions of privately-held enterprises. Mr. Clinger earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Finance, summa cum laude, from Coastal Carolina University and received the distinguished President’s award. Mr. Clinger has also earned the Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) designation from the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA), the Certified Business Appraiser (CBA) designation from the Institute of Business Appraisers (IBA), and the Licensed International Financial Analyst (LIFA) for the International Research Association.

About The Dunes Golf & Beach Club—The Dunes Golf & Beach Club is a private golf club built in 1948. It is recognized as one of Robert Trent Jones’ finest designs. Since its inception, it has proved to be a world class course, offering the best in golf and member services. The course has a rating of 75.7 and a slope rating of 144. Each hole has its own descriptive name to give golfers an idea of what to expect before they tee off. “Waterloo”, hole 13, is the signature hole of the Dunes Club. “Waterloo” has received many accolades and awards as one of the greatest golf holes in the world.

Press Contact:

The Robert M. Clinger III Invitational Executive Committee
http://www.ClingerInvitational.com

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With improvements in sports officiating such as allowing challenges, appeals, and/or reviews of calls on the field, will any major sport do away with human officiating?

Owatonna, MN Correspondent-Instant replay has become ubiquitous in all refereed sports. Coaches and managers can challenge calls by referees and umpires, and the number of calls subject to challenge is expanding. Technology can show us the outline of a baseball strike zone, allowing viewers to judge for themselves if the umpire called a pitch correctly. Football passes can be ruled a catch or a no-catch based on reviewing numerous videotaped camera shots. Sensors in tennis are used on the court lines to prove if a shot was in or out. Because of the money involved in winning or losing games, tournaments, and championships, it’s logical to want biased or inconsistent officiating to have as small an impact as possible on the outcome of the game. Continue reading

Will self-driving cars ever be 100% safe, as most manufacturers claim them to be?

Owatonna, MN Correspondent-Self-driving cars (SDC) seem to be an inevitable development in automobile technology. I hope the technology improves to the point where driving in a car is even safer than airline travel, which is currently the safest form of mechanical transportation. But I don’t believe SDCs will ever become 100% safe and remain practical and affordable. Continue reading

Considering the growing power and influence of technology companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon, are we at risk of becoming a Big Brother society where our every move is observed, and every detail of our private lives is accessible to those who wish to manipulate or exploit us in some way?

Gastonia, NC Correspondent-I don’t think we’re at risk of becoming a Big Brother society, I think we’re already there.  Big Data has infiltrated every part of our lives, and the ability of hackers to take over smart devices in our homes, listen in our baby monitors and even turn on the cameras in our computers and cellphones remotely has made an illusion of privacy.  It’s the price of being part of the digital world. Unless you want to live in a yurt and burn cow dung for heat, you’re going to have to surrender some of your privacy in exchange for entrée into the modern world. Continue reading