The Masters Tournament opens Thursday in Augusta, Georgia, with competition running through Sunday. The four-day event carries significant economic weight for South Carolina businesses and industries along the I-20 corridor.
Duane Parrish, director of South Carolina Parks, Recreation & Tourism, says “our best estimate [is that] between 35% to 40% of all the economic impact surrounding the Masters takes place on the South Carolina side of the border.”
Much of that activity flows through hotels and restaurants, but Parrish says state parks also see an increase. Hickory Knob State Park, roughly 40 minutes from Augusta, has a golf course and hotel on the property. During Masters Week, he says, it experiences its “busiest week of the year.”…