Let's face it, 2020 wasn't a great year for many of us. One thing that has provided some small relief during this tumultuous year however is sports.
Whether you watch football, basketball, baseball, soccer, hockey or other sports, when the decision was made that sport can resume, it was welcomed with open arms.
As we welcome in the new year Charleston is set to host a number of great and highly-anticipated sports events in 2021. Below, we've listed when you can expect them to take place and where they will be showcased.
The PGA Championship
Ranked an impressive 58th for the best golf courses in the world, ‘The Ocean' at The Kiawah Island Golf Courses and Resort in Charleston will become home once again to the PGA championship.
Situated just 30 miles from Charleston, the Ocean course at the Kiawah Golf Resort is a challenging par 72 adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean, hence the name of the course. With proceedings teeing off from May 20th to May 23rd, fans from far and wide will be coming to Charleston to watch the world's very best in golf compete to win the illustrious PGA championship.
When the PGA Championship was last held here in 2012, golf superstar Rory McIlroy won by a record 8 strokes and he will be looking to repeat the trick next May.
As well as McIIroy, Jordan Speith and Tiger woods are amongst the favorites for the tournament next year and they are currently priced at around 5.0 in the betting odds. As we head closer to the event, no doubt excitement will pick up and expect more odds to be revealed for other players. Bookies will also likely release a number of PGA Championship specific promotions, enabling punters to choose between a free bet and risk free bets, as well as a whole host of other offers.
The Kiawah Island Golf Course becomes only the 18th course in the history of the competition to host the championship on two or more occasions.
The Cooper River Bridge Run
The Cooper River Bridge run will be in Charleston for the 43rd year running (literally). Home of the largest sporting event in all of South Carolina, the Cooper River Bridge run always attracts competitors from all over the world who come to participate. With a $10,000 cash prize for the first place finishing male and female runner, experienced runners come to have a shot at winning the cash prize, in addition to more casual running enthusiasts. With up to 40,000 runners ready and raring to go from the starting line, it makes the Cooper River Bridge run the 3rd largest 10,000 metre race in the USA.
Basketball
The city of Charleston also has so much to offer on the basketball front. In the 2020 NBA draft, the now former College of Charleston Cougar guard, Grant Riller was drafted to the Charlotte Hornets for the upcoming season. Riller will join Joe Chealey, also a former player of the Cougars (drafted in 2018) at the Charlotte Hornets.
In the NCAA basketball league, Colonial Athletic division, the Cougars finished the 2019/2020 season in 5th place.
Looking forward to the 2020 – 2021 season, head coach Earl Grant will be looking to lead his team higher up the table. Currently, there are no spectators allowed into the College of Charleston Cougar's arena, the TD arena because of the spread of the coronavirus. However, coaches, players and fans of the Cougars will be very hopeful of fans being able to attend games in 2021.
The ‘Charleston Classic' is scheduled again for late November in 2021. The annual event sponsored by ESPN will be hosted at the TD arena, displaying some of the best teams and players in college basketball.
Tennis
In 2021, tennis enthusiasts can look forward to the return of the Volvo Car Open at LTP-Daniel Island. The tournament is planned to span through April 3rd – April 11th in 2021 and is sure to be as exciting as always. Since the 2020 Volvo Car Open was postponed due to the outbreak of CoVid-19, 2021 will be the 48th anniversary of the inauguration of the competition. With the prize money for the winner being a whopping $1,000,000, the biggest names in women's tennis will come to Charleston to compete for the glory.
Ice Hockey
The South Carolina Stingrays will be looking for a strong start to the 2020-2021 ECHL season. Being the record holders for the most ECHL title wins, The Stingrays will be looking to increase this tally to four.
The new season begins on December 12, 2020, where the puck will be dropped for the first time in a long time against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. With stiff competition from The Florida Everblades going into the new season, head coach Ryan Blair will be hoping to win consecutive ECHL titles.
Additionally, the Stingrays will be hoping to win the Kelly Cup, where they've perhaps fallen short in recent years. 2020-2021 will be a captivating season for all the Stingrays fans, who will be hoping that they can see their team take to the ice in the North Charleston Coliseum.
