Hispanic chamber still mum on FUTURES tour’s fate

McALLEN -- The McAllen Hispanic Chamber of Commerce had promised to announce Tuesday whether the Duramed FUTURES Tour would return to the Rio Grande Valley next year.

But by day's end, the fate of the annual Jalapeño Golf Classic was no clearer than the day before, when Hispanic chamber Chairwoman Brenda Lee Huerta said her organization would not host the tournament in 2009 and 2010.

The FUTURES tour is the official developmental tour of the Ladies Professional Golf Association and has included the Jalapeño Golf Classic at McAllen's Palm View Golf Course since 2005.

Despite the chamber's decision to pull out, Huerta said Monday that Hispanic chamber leaders would release a statement the next day explaining a deal with another host organization that would ensure the tour returned to the Valley next year.

Tuesday morning, she confirmed the statement would go out via e-mail by the afternoon, but no official word ever came and she and other officials did not return phone calls the rest of the day.

The chamber struggled this spring to find sponsors for the tournament, forcing the FUTURES organization to put up a portion of the prize money itself.

Huerta said the Hispanic chamber has decided to pull out as host because it doesn't have the resources to organize the event or raise money for it.

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James Osborne covers McAllen and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4428.