The gated community in Reno, Nev. hosted the Barracuda Championship for 21 years, but said an evaluation of “the financial impact on our club, as well as the impact on our facilities, our members and Montrêux homeowners” led to the decision not to renew its tournament contract. Local tournament organizers and the PGA are looking for a new site in the Reno market.
Montrêux Golf & Country Club in Reno, Nevada has announced that, after 21 years, it will no longer host the Barracuda Championship, an official PGA TOUR event, the Nevada Appeal of Carson City, Nev. reported.
The decision was reached by the Montrêux Golf & Country Club Board of Directors after many weeks of study and discussion, the Appeal reported.
“Our decision to discontinue hosting the Barracuda Championship was not an easy one, nor one that we took lightly,” said Tim Slapnicka, President of Montrêux’s Board of Directors. “We evaluated the financial impact on our club, as well as the impact on our facilities, our members and Montrêux homeowners, and came to the conclusion that it was in our best interests not to enter into a new agreement to host the tournament.”
The Montrêux community has grown considerably and there has been an increasing need to maximize the availability of the facilities and minimize the impacts on the growing membership and homeowners, the Appeal reported. For these reasons, the Appeal noted, it has been rare for private clubs to host PGA events annually for more than a few years.
“Our relationship with the Reno-Tahoe Open Foundation and the PGA has been a very positive one for 21 years, and the members of the Montrêux community have been proud to be a part of this event that has given so much back to our community,” Slapnicka continued. “As a result, we are committed to hosting charitable events here at Montrêux that will continue to benefit the community, regardless of whether or not another course is found in northern Nevada to host the tournament.
“We look forward to assessing the community’s needs and how we can best support those needs at Montrêux,” Slapnicka said.
The Barracuda Championship’s Tournament Director, Chris Hoff, told the Reno Gazette-Journal that alternative venues are being sought in the Reno market for a new site for the event.
“We are thankful to the Montreux membership and homeowners for their support and hospitality since 1999,” Hoff said. “While certainly disappointed, we will start to explore alternative venues in the market and look forward to continuing the Barracuda Championship.”
Barracuda is close to finalizing a deal to return as the Reno PGA Tour stop title sponsor, Hoff added. “[The PGA is] very happy with the partnership with the tournament,” he said.
In 2020, the Gazette-Journal reported, the Barracuda is scheduled to move to an earlier date, July 2-5, due to the Summer Olympics in Japan.
The Barracuda Championship is the only PGA TOUR event that uses a modified Stableford scoring system.
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