The Chattanooga Classic is undergoing a slight transformation that is intended to help ensure its future with the PGA and increase charity within the community.
The tournament now will be known as the Children's Hospital Classic, with a direct tie to Erlanger Medical Center, and it is set on the Nationwide Tour schedule for next year.
"It's a new direction. It keeps the PGA Tour here in the Chattanooga community, and it puts all of the focus on children," tournament director Mickey McCamish said Monday. "It's all about children, with tournament proceeds benefiting the First Tee of Chattanooga and meeting the needs of youngsters at Children's Hospital."
The Classic has been scheduled on a year-by-year basis with no guarantee of one year after the next because it has lacked a title sponsor.
The name change allows Friends of the Festival -- the tournament operators -- to open new financial avenues and increase its charitable donations.
"We know that Chattanooga is a market that can support a Nationwide Tour event, and it's an important market to us," said Tim Iley, the PGA Tour director of tournament business affairs. "To have Erlanger behind the event and have the name Children's Hospital Classic is taking it up a big notch. It allows [Friends of Festival] to establish the foundation for a very bright future."
A news conference is scheduled for today at Black Creek Club, site of the Oct. 6-9 tournament. The new logo will be unveiled, and McCamish will expand on the process of becoming partners with the only children's hospital in the region.
"The Children's Hospital Classic will become a signature fundraising event for Children's Hospital at Erlanger," Jim Brexler, president and CEO of Erlanger Medical Center, said in a prepared statement.
"With community support and the support of business partners, this year's tournament will help fulfill the dream list of major projects."
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.