By Stan Olenik, Editor-Publisher, The Golf Club

While the leadership of the Carolina Country Club had heard quiet talk that the BMW Celebrity Pro-Am presented by Synnex might relocate its rounds, the official phone call that arrived last Friday still came as a shock.

Club owner Tim Dunlap confirmed the change in a letter sent to members Wednesday, writing that he was “disappointed to inform you the BMW Celebrity Pro-Am will not be returning to the Carolina Country Club.”

When contacted by The Golf Club, Dunlap referred all questions to the letter he had distributed to members. In that message, he wrote that direct requests for information from the PGA Tour and South Carolina Charities — the presenting organization for the BMW Charity Pro-Am — went unanswered as plans to move the event to the Country Club of Spartanburg were already in motion.

“While we had signed a multiyear agreement last year, I was informed through back channels that the tour was negotiating with Spartanburg Country Club,” Dunlap wrote. “When I reached out to my contacts at the PGA Tour and South Carolina Charities to get the facts on what was occurring, they did not return my calls and texts.”

For the past three years, Carolina Country Club had served as the companion course to Thornblade Club, keeping Spartanburg County — home to BMW Manufacturing’s largest global facility — involved in a tournament that carries the automaker’s name.

The PGA Tour typically conducts detailed reviews before changing venues, evaluating agronomy, staging, and branding. Dunlap said in his letter he now believes that process was already underway even as his outreach went unanswered.

“Last Friday I received a phone call from the PGA Tour informing me they needed to go in a new direction and that I would be receiving a termination letter,” he wrote. “That letter was sent via email within the hour.”

Carolina Country Club joins a long list of Upstate courses the BMW tournament has either chosen to move on from or was not invited to return to, including Greenville’s Chanticleer Course, Green Valley, The Cliffs Valley, Furman University Golf Club, and Verdae Greens — all respected venues that at one time served as companion sites.

Dunlap closed his letter by thanking members for their support and reaffirming the club’s commitment to community service.

“While we do not deserve to be treated in such a manner, I want you to know that we will continue to do the good work in our community in supporting charities throughout the Upstate by hosting events for worthy causes and giving back to the community with our resources,” Dunlap wrote.

A Familiar Pattern, Familiar Silence

The Golf Club has made several requests for comment and an interview with tournament leadership through the public relations firm representing the BMW Charity Pro-Am, but as of publication, those requests have gone unanswered.

Local station WSPA 7News — which served as a Media Partner of last year’s tournament — also sought clarification. A tournament spokesperson told 7News Sports there was “no news to report and that the 2026 tournament schedule will be released in the future.”

WSPA7News produced this information on their website on Wednesday.

That statement, from a tournament spokesman, appeared inconsistent with the event’s own website, which at the time already listed the 2026 dates and identified Thornblade Club and the Country Club of Spartanburg as host venues.

Following The Golf Club’s initial request for information, however, the website was changed.

A new image replaced the earlier graphic and now lists the Carolina Country Club among the 2026 host sites — even though, by the time that change was made to the website, the club had already been officially notified by the PGA Tour that it would not be part of the 2026 event.

The conflicting information — and the lack of explanation from either the PGA Tour, South Carolina Charities, or the tournament’s public relations firm — has created confusion and raised questions about the event’s leadership and communication.

The answer provided to WSPA 7News, while brief, only underscores the need for a more complete explanation — one that ideally comes from the board of South Carolina Charities, the tournament’s governing organization.

Calls for Accountability

While gathering information concerning the venue change, several questions about other aspects of the BMW tournament’s business practices have surfaced.

Those accounts, along with Dunlap’s letter, have renewed concern about how South Carolina Charities and the PGA Tour oversee the tournament’s operations.

The Golf Club again invites comment from tournament organizers, South Carolina Charities, and the PGA Tour, and will publish any statements received.

Until then, the silence surrounding the BMW Charity Pro-Am’s move to Spartanburg speaks almost as loudly as the announcement that never came.