Ginn Sur Mer PGA Fall Tour Ends after Two Years
Regrettable but not unexpected – two years into a five-year contract, the 2009 PGA Tour schedule does not include the Ginn sur Mer Classic.
Palm Coast, Florida – December 24, 2008 – Palm Coast, in Flagler County, Florida hosted two PGA events in 2008, an incredible feat for an area of fewer than 100,000 residents. Ginn Resorts sponsored both events. The Ginn Championship, boasting the second largest purse on the PGA Champions Tour was hosted for the second consecutive year at the Jack Nicklaus designed Ocean Course at Hammock Beach. The PGA Fall Tour’s Ginn sur Mer Classic with a $4.6 million purse was recently held at The Conservatory Golf Course, a Tom Watson creation. Last year’s Sur Mer Classic was played at Tesoro, another Ginn development in Port St. Lucie, FL. The PGA/Ginn contract for the Ginn sur Mer Classic is for five years, but after only two years, it’s no longer on the 2009 PGA schedule.
The Ginn sur Mer Classic was planned to be hosted at different Ginn venues each year, ultimately ending up at the Ginn sur Mer resort under development in The Bahamas.
Bobby Ginn’s company, along with the rest of the real estate development industry, has fallen on hard times. Facing cash flow, credit, and legal issues, Ginn Resorts has cut back in several areas so it’s not surprising that they will drop sponsorship of the Ginn sur Mer Classic. The loss will be felt by the local economy as well as local charities who were the recent beneficiaries of $175,000 in donations from Ginn Resorts as a result of the tournament. The Classic is the second tour event cancelled by Ginn this year. Earlier, Ginn backed out of the LPGA’s Ginn Tribute hosted by Annika Sorenstam in Mt. Pleasant, SC. CBS Sports.com reported that Ginn bought its way out of the multi-year LPGA contract. Ginn is still in discussions with the PGA over the three remaining three years of the Ginn sur Mer Classic contract. A month ago, a company spokesperson said that the company still plans to stage the remaining Palm Coast Champion’s Tour and Orlando LPGA tour events in the spring, reevaluating its continuing sponsorship plans thereafter.
Ironically, Ginn picked up the tournament in June 2007 when another developer faced financial problems. It was originally known as the Running Horse Championship to be played at the Running Horse Golf and Country Club in Fresno, California, but the developer filed for bankruptcy. The company that bought the property could not complete the golf course in time for the tournament.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!