A PGA Tour event held in the Carolinas has hit turbulence.
No, it’s not the GO by Raymond James (formerly Wyndham Championship), which is on the rise after securing a spot in the Tour’s Championship Series beginning in 2028.
It’s not the RBC Heritage on Hilton Head Island, the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte nor the Biltmore Championship Asheville, either.
It’s the OneFlight Myrtle Beach Classic. OneFlight, a private jet charter airline which abruptly shut down a few weeks ago, was hit with three federal lawsuits alleging fraud on Thursday.
On Sept. 15, OneFlight announced it was pausing flights for 30 days and defaulted on payments to creditors. The suit alleges that OneFlight collected advance payments and used them to fund current expenses, which the plaintiff charges is the “hallmark of a Ponzi scheme.”
The title sponsor of the May event held the past three years at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club, OneFlight had awarded free mileage to the winners of the tournament.
Despite its small $4-million purse the same weekend as the $20-million Wells Fargo signature event, the Myrtle Beach event drew big crowds and launched the successes of winners Chris Gotterup and Ryan Fox and the revival of Brandt Snedeker’s career.
Co-title sponsor Visit Myrtle Beach, part of the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce, told local media that it looked forward to the 2027 tournament.
