Zayra Calderon, the CEO of the Duramed Futures Tour, made a stop in Syracuse today to announce a change of venue for the Alliance
Bank Golf Classic. She also revealed two new charitable affiliations for the tournament. Drumlins East, the private portion of the sprawling golf complex on the city’s east side, will play host to the event, which had been held for 13 years at The Links at Erie Village. Also, The First Tee of Syracuse, Inc., and Leadership Greater Syracuse will become the chief charitable beneficiaries of the women’s professional golf event. The Alliance Bank tournament will be held this year from July 31 through Aug. 2 at Drumlins. The tournament will boost its purse to $100,000, up $10,000 from last year’s event. Calderon said during an afternoon news conference that she’s been making plans for this year’s tournament for a year and a half. Loretto, the tournament’s former chief charity, announced its plans to drop its affiliation with the Futures Tour after last year’s event. And Calderon said she’s been shopping Central New York for awhile to find a suitable golf course to host the event. “All I know is that Syracuse is really important to us,” Calderon said. “It’s a perfect market and what I see is just opportunity.”
When asked why she believed Syracuse to be a fine fit for the Futures, Calderon said, “It’s a second- and third-tier market. Markets that are used to the minor league models. Good, competitive university teams. There are a lot of fans, sports enthusiasts that appreciate the developmental tour.”