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Turning Stone woos PGA
Atunyote course to host B.C. Open
Sal Maiorana
Staff writer
While it may be true that it's better to be lucky than good — especially when it comes to golf — Ray Halbritter doesn't necessarily subscribe to that theory.
"Someone once said luck is preparation waiting for opportunity," said Halbritter, Oneida Nation representative and CEO.
Preparation: Ever since Tom Fazio was hired to build a championship golf course, Turning Stone Casino and Resort has been trying to lure a PGA, LPGA or Champions Tour event to Atunyote Golf Club, the newest and best of its three courses.
Opportunity: The recent Southern Tier flood washed out En-Joie Golf Club in Endicott and rendered it unplayable for this week's B.C. Open, and Turning Stone offered Atunyote (pronounced uh-DUNE-yoat) as a replacement venue and the PGA Tour gladly accepted.
So this morning when the tournament starts, Turning Stone hits the big time because it was prepared when its opportunity arose. And based on what happens over these next four days, the central New York hot spot could be positioned to procure a permanent PGA Tour event starting in 2007.
"If Turning Stone has interest in hosting a Fall Series event, we would be more than happy to have a discussion about it," said Hal Seward, the PGA Tour's director of tour development."We are very impressed with the golf course so far. The playing surface, the layout and design, it's fantastic, and it will be interesting to see what kind of scores our players shoot."
The PGA Tour has revamped its schedule starting next year with the introduction of the FedEx Cup competition. There will be a 36-tournament regular season in which players will earn points based on how they finish each week.
The top 144 men will qualify for the playoffs — a series of three tournaments in late August and early September.
The top 30 playoff performers will then compete in the Tour Championship, where a season champion will be crowned and awarded a $10 million bonus.
Once the FedEx Cup is complete, the tour will conduct a season-ending seven-tournament Fall Series that will help determine which players keep their tour cards for the following year and who returns to qualifying school.
It appears that the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio, the FUNAI Classic at The Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla., the Southern Farm Bureau Classic in Madison, Miss., and the event in Las Vegas are pretty much set for inclusion in the Fall Series.
That leaves three openings. Turning Stone is pursuing one, and it has the rare opportunity this week by hosting the B.C. Open to demonstrate that it is worthy of an annual tour stop.
"I think that possibility is there," said Halbritter. "We've certainly built a facility that can do the job.
"We have prepared an incredible golf destination for an event like this, and we're getting the exposure, and we're delighted by that."
Henry Hughes, the tour's chief of operations, said Turning Stone will be in the mix but nothing has been decided.
"We have not announced our fall schedule," said Hughes, who believes it could be another month before that is done. "Right now our 100 percent focus is on the 2006 B.C. Open. Could this lead to other things? Sure, but we're also talking to other people about finalizing our fall schedule. There's no commitment, no plan, no if-you-do-this-we'll-do-that."
If it was just about the golf course, Turning Stone would be feeling pretty good about its chances. Atunyote is a fantastic facility, and it can be set up in a variety of ways to test the professionals.
However, there are many more issues that the tour will take into account before it offers one of its precious stops.
Halbritter said what the players who compete this week have to say about the course will go a long way toward determining Turning Stone's fate.
"That is definitely a factor," he said. "That could be critical to our future."
So far, the course has drawn rave reviews.
"The greens here are in fabulous shape. The fairways are fabulous,'' two-time PGA winner Mike Springer told the Syracuse Post-Standard. "The guys who skipped this week are going to regret it once word gets back to them about this place.''
Logistical concerns remain, however. There is more than enough land for corporate hospitality, merchandise and concession tents, but moving big crowds around the course needs to be ironed out.
Parking and shuttle bus service will be put to the test, as will community support. If attendance is poor, that will quite likely effect the tour's decision.
Lastly, and probably most importantly, it must be determined whether the central New York region can produce enough corporate sponsorship dollars to make a potential tournament a success.
"I think one of the keys is whether or not the region could be a good host for an event of this type," Halbritter said, "whether the sponsorship opportunities are there, and whether we get the cooperation in the region as far as the political entities.
"The PGA really wants to have events that benefit regions. The economics are important because you want to raise that level of charitable gift giving, so they're looking at venues that are successful."
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