Seniors add new Florida event

The Champions Tour is back in a city that it had vacated. Only it’s not in the South Florida area. And Ginn Clubs & Resorts is involved again.

The company, whose Quail West property is the new home of The ACE Group Classic beginning in 2007, and the tour announced Wednesday that the $2.5 million Ginn Championship will be played March 26-April 1 at Hammock Beach near Palm Coast at the Tom Watson-designed Conservatory Course.

“I think it’s great,” ACE Group Classic director Jason Camp said. “It just shows why it was a great partnership for us to move over to Quail West and work with the Ginn Company in hosting The ACE Group Classic.”

The Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open, an LPGA Tour event, was played for the first time in April at Reunion, another Ginn property in the Orlando area. The Ginn Company served as the title sponsor of that event as well.

Bobby Ginn was asked during Wednesday’s teleconference about any other events, particularly a PGA Tour one since his group already is involved in the LPGA and Champions tours.

“We are probably going to be making some more announcements here in the next few weeks on other areas,” Ginn said. “We do not want to let it all out of the bag here in one day. But we do have other things. Professional golf integrated with our clubs is a major part of our thrust going forward in community building. It is just such a huge part of the business and people enjoy it so much.”

Also announced was the formation of Ginn Sports & Entertainment, LLC, to manage both the Champions Tour and LPGA Tour events. Octagon manages The ACE Group Classic.

The Conservatory is not yet completed, but Watson and Ginn indicated it will be by year’s end.

The Champions Tour’s Legends of Golf previously was played in St. Augustine. It moved to Savannah, Ga., a few years ago. The tour has not made an announcement on replacing the Royal Caribbean Classic, which was played on Key Biscayne at the start of a Florida swing that included Naples’ event as well as Tampa’s. This was the second year only two events were played in February as part of the swing.