EarthGolf

Running Horse Golf Club was to host the Running Horse Golf Championship in October - a PGA Tour event that occurs after the Tour Championship.

But the course has run into financial difficulties and the developers have declared chapter 11 bankruptcy.

In court documents, the developers of Running Horse say they can no longer pay or meet its debts. They owe more than 200 businesses and people tens of millions of dollars.

Action News also learned Friday, A Manteca company says it has bought Running Horse, but this isn’t stopping the PGA from looking at other places to host a major tournament.
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A PGA spokesperson heard about the federal bankruptcy filing and told Action News: they remain interested in bringing a tournament to Fresno, but they’re now evaluating other markets and venues.

The tournament has been in trouble since early April.

The prize purse for the October tournament isn’t fully funded, a detail of no small consequence to those who make their living playing golf.
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Jeffrey said it’s unlikely the Running Horse course will be ready this year. That means an alternate site must be found. Copper River Country Club in north Fresno is the leading candidate, but nothing has been settled, Jeffrey said.

An alternate site can’t be announced until everyone is sure there will be a tournament. That’s because the alternate site has a lot of work to do to get its course ready. But there’s no guaranteed tournament until there’s a guaranteed $4.5 million purse.

Without a guaranteed tournament, Jeffrey and his staff find it all but impossible to sell various levels of sponsorship, including title sponsorship for more than $14 million over four years. A title sponsorship is vital because it makes the letter of credit irrelevant.

And without a guaranteed purse, PGA Tour golfers can’t make firm plans for the Oct. 22-28 event. No golfers means no tournament.

(Image Credit: Running Horse Golf Club) 

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