Jimmy V Classic moves from Cary to Pinehurst

The annual celebrity golf tournament had a scheduling conflict with SAS Championship

A scheduling conflict is causing one of the Triangle's signature charity events to relocate to North Carolina's premier golf resort.

The Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic announced Tuesday it is leaving Prestonwood Country Club in Cary for Pinehurst Resort, about 60 miles to the southwest. The celebrity tournament, held the last weekend in August, has raised more than $12 million for cancer research during its 13-year run at Prestonwood.

The move comes after the charity tournament, named after former N.C. State University basketball coach Jim Valvano, came into conflict with Prestonwood's other major golf event, the SAS Championship. Next year's SAS Championship will be held the week of Sept. 17 instead of its traditional October date.

Vance Heafner, director of golf for Prestonwood, said the country club needs about three weeks to prepare to host the PGA Champions Tour event. The earlier date does not leave enough time for Prestonwood to host both tournaments, he said.

SAS CEO Jim Goodnight owns Prestonwood.

Nick Valvano, CEO of The V Foundation for Cancer Research and brother to the late Jim Valvano, said the foundation decided against rescheduling its tournament because most coaches and athletes are available in late August.

"The only thing we didn't have flexibility in is changing the dates," Valvano said.

The foundation wanted to relocate to a resort that, like Prestonwood, has at least three golf courses. This year the Jimmy V Classic drew 325 celebrities to Prestonwood's three courses, raising an estimated $700,000.

Pinehurst Resort is home to eight courses. Next year's classic will be played on three of the resort's most prestigious: numbers 2, 4 and 8.

Valvano said the foundation has not ruled out eventually returning to the Triangle, where it will continue to host a tennis tournament, bike ride and raffle. Its current agreement with Pinehurst is for one year.

More than 900 volunteers helped put on this year's event, including longtime volunteers such as Felicia Daniels, 44, of Raleigh.

Daniels, who has volunteered at the tournament for the past six years, said she would make the drive to Pinehurst. "If they need me, I'm gonna do what I can to get there," she said.

Heafner said the move to Pinehurst, which hosted the U.S. Open in 1999 and 2005, might enable the tournament to attract a few more A-List celebrities.

"They may get a new group of people and revitalize their celebrity list," he said.

In its early years, the Classic drew celebrities such as Bob Costas, Jim Palmer and Kevin Costner.

This year's stars included former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Dennis Haskins, who played Mr. Belding on the television show "Saved by the Bell."