Frank Pinto doesn't play in competitive golf events very often.

But when he does, it might as well be for a world championship.

Pinto, 54, of Butler will play in the Golf.com World Amateur Championship Aug. 30 through Sept. 3 in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

This will mark the seventh consecutive year Pinto will compete in the event, which costs $550 to play.

"When you've played before, they give you a discount. It will cost me between $450 and $470 to do it," he said.

The Golf.com World Amateur Championship, which is entering its 27th year, features 3,600 players from 50 states and 20 countries divided into 64 flights.

Entrants are placed into flights based on their handicaps. They play a round of 18 holes Monday through Thursday on a different course each day.

"You play against people of similar capability from all over the place," Pinto said. "I've played with a guy from New Zealand."

Flight winners come back to play against each other in an 18-hole final on Friday. Net scores are used to determine the world champion.

Pinto, carrying a 10 handicap, won his flight in 2005.

"There were just under 100 golfers in each flight back then," he said. "Now there's 48 in each flight.

"My daughter was getting married that year and I was supposed to pick her up on Thursday," he added. "I never dreamed I'd be in the finals on Friday. My mind wasn't on my game and I went in the tank."

A member of Oakview Golf Club in Slippery Rock, Pinto has been a golfer for 35 years. Besides this Golf.com event, the only competitive tournament he takes part in is the annual Oakview Seniors Club Championship.

"I've been going to Myrtle Beach annually to golf for 27 years now," Pinto said. "I saw an advertisement for it one year when I was down there.

"More than 3,000 golfers and the fact it's based on handicap, so everyone has a shot ... it intrigued me. I signed up and have been playing it ever since."

Pinto said as many as 12 golfers from Butler were in this event two years ago. He is the only one doing it this year.

Champions of the tournament have had handicaps ranging from 3 to 34. Three women have won it.

Pinto carded a net 294 for four rounds last year, finishing 18th in his flight.

The Golf.com tourney is played on 60 courses in the Myrtle Beach area. Golfers are notified of the four courses they'll be playing beforehand.

"I take it a little more seriously than most," he said. "I go down a few days before the event, play the courses assigned to my flight, and have my son, Michael, whip me into shape.

"He's a much better golfer than I am and knows how to prep me for a tournament."

Michael Pinto is a former standout Butler High golfer who went on to play at Belmont-Abbey College in North Carolina.

The Golf.com event features the 19th Hole, a 100,000-square-foot facility that features stores, bars and restaurants.

"It's a big party each night we're down there," the elder Pinto said. "It really is a golfer's paradise."