Bryan Bros, South Carolina natives tell unconventional story of Myrtle Beach Classic

At this week's inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic, George Bryan IV is making his second PGA TOUR start. Bryan IV and his brother Wesley Bryan, also competing this week, constitute the “Bryan Bros Golf” YouTube channel and are ambassadors of the Myrtle Beach golf community.

“It's just cool to be able to use our platform to be able to tell the story of the Myrtle Beach Classic,” said Bryan IV ahead of the event.

But what exactly is the story of the Myrtle Beach Classic?

For starters, it's an unconventional one.

Matt Atkins, the 33-year-old University of South Carolina-Aiken product, gave a joint press conference with the 36-year-old Bryan IV on Wednesday. Atkins bested a field of eight popular golf content creators (that included Bryan IV) and eight aspiring PGA TOUR players in the “The Q at Myrtle Beach” to earn his spot in the field. The 16-player, 18-hole qualifier was contested in March at TPC Myrtle Beach.

Though Bryan IV led “The Q” up to the final hole, an errant approach shot in the water led to a bogey, and Atkins birdied to send it to a playoff, then made another birdie on the first playoff hole to seal the deal.

Referring to the qualifier, Bryan IV said, “It's never been a thing where YouTube has had an impact into a PGA TOUR event directly, and this is the first time it's ever happened … It was really freaking cool.”

It’s a story of second chances.

After “The Q,” Bryan IV was devastated – “I couldn't even go to the golf course and practice for a couple days because all I could think about was that 40-yard pitch shot out of the rough, downhill lie, and like, should I have laid up?” – but several weeks later, landed a spot in the event via a sponsor exemption.

In a video posted to the Bryan Bros YouTube channel, Bryan IV answers a phone call from Tournament Director Darren Nelson offering him the exemption. “Holy cow ... This is honestly a dream come true,” said Bryan IV. “Playing in a PGA TOUR event in my home state. ... let me catch my breath a little bit.”

No one knows about second chances better than Matt Atkins. After finding himself at a crossroads in November balancing family life with golf, he decided to enter The RSM Classic's Monday qualifier as a last resort, and he survived an eight-man playoff to earn one of four spots. Overcome with emotion, he said afterward: "I'll quit if I have to quit, because I'm not gonna sacrifice my family for golf, but I don't want to quit."

He then birdied the final three holes of The RSM Classic's second round to make the cut.

"I was down to no money," reflected Atkins. "A lot of prayers for clarity and discernment, and a lot of things got answered that week." The subsequent paycheck helped him continue his professional career, a path that led him to The Dunes Golf and Beach Club this week.

“When you're out here and you're playing and everything ... there's a lot of surface-level conversations,” continued Atkins. “There's maybe not as much depth in the conversations as there needs to be, so people don't really know what everyone is going through out here.

"It was cool to see some of the other players and caddies just kind of congratulate me on that week."

The place that sparked so many golf journeys gets its own event.

It's fitting that the PGA TOUR is anchoring in the "Golf Capital of the World" this week.

Just ask Trace Crowe, the 27-year-old Auburn University grad who was one of five players to earn their TOUR card at the 2023 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry. Crowe grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and bought his first set of clubs in Myrtle Beach at age 10.

Or ask Atkins. “I didn't grow up in South Carolina, but South Carolina is my home now," he said. "We vacationed here in Myrtle Beach, and this is where I would tell people, I just played golf on vacation.”

George Bryan IV and Wesley Bryan have been playing golf in Myrtle Beach since age 6. They played the George Holliday Memorial Junior Tournament here every Thanksgiving.

“I was a 12-year-old that won the (George Holliday) overall title against like 18-year-olds and 19-year-olds,” said George. “It's my first-ever win. It's a cool thing because that was 24 years ago. I mean, to come full circle, to play in a PGA TOUR event in my home state ... which I just now thought about. It's really special.”

A story of philia love.

The philia love – love between brothers or close friends – Atkins and each of the Bryan brothers have for each other is apparent.

George Bryan IV and Wesley Bryan detailed how special it was to play their first PGA TOUR event together, which was George’s PGA TOUR debut, at the 2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

“I felt bad about how badly I was beating him in Bermuda at first,” joked George.

“They started chanting ‘Let’s catch Wes,'” Wesley said, and added that George was the only player he wants to beat this week: “I'm only checking George's score. Nobody else matters in the field.”

Atkins is an occasional friend of the Bryan Bros YouTube channel – although his friendship with the two got off to a rocky start. Atkins played with Wesley in a college event that Wesley has no recollection of. (“He was probably terrible," Wesley quipped.)

The two later played together in an eGolf Professional Tour event, and Wesley approached Atkins on the range at the Country Club of South Carolina the following week.

“Knowing him now, it's more funny because I know his personality,” said Atkins, “but he came up, and he was like, ‘Dude, I almost died yesterday.’ I was like, what? I played a practice round with him, but he came up to me like we were tight .... So that's kind of where our friendship kicked off.”

After getting married in 2017, Atkins moved to North Augusta, South Carolina, where Wesley lived, and the two frequently played golf together. “I didn’t get invited,” interjected George. The truth, Atkins clarified, was that George would film 1-on-1 matches for his YouTube channel, but not stay for group rounds.

“It was frustrating because I feel like I couldn't compete with you guys because y'all were pretty solid,” said George.

But as their friendship grew, so did Atkins’ encouragement towards George.

“The whole thing about Matt and a lot of the guys that we played with,” said George, “they've told me that even though my game was garbage in my eyes, ‘Dude, you're good enough to be on the PGA TOUR.’ Like what are you talking about? I just shot 74 … But he kept saying, ‘George, you're good enough to be on the PGA TOUR.' … They're part of the reason why I played as well as I did last year, got into (the Butterfield Bermuda Championship) and made the cut in the PGA TOUR event as a YouTuber guy.

“They helped instill confidence in me when I had zero confidence."

The favor was mutual, as George uplifted Atkins through his struggles in golf in 2023, saying: “Matt's a grinder. Like he believes in himself when he maybe on paper shouldn't. Getting through that Monday, making the cut and then going to this year, getting through some Mondays and playing like he has, it just shows you, you believe in yourself, how powerful the mind is and staying positive.”