If early registration is any indication, the Pacific Amateur Golf Classic might be poised to grow again.

The Pac Am, an annual handicapped golf tournament that draws hundreds of amateur golfers each year to courses throughout Central Oregon, will tee off for its 18th edition on Sept. 22.

And with a month to go, Pac Am organizers are hopeful the four-day tournament will attract more golfers than the 461 it registered last year, which would be the first year of growth since the event peaked at about 800 golfers in 2007 and 2008.

“We’re feeling really confident with the pace (of registration),” says Alana Hughson, president/CEO of the Central Oregon Visitors Association, which organizes the Pac Am. “The fact that the economy is good and stable is always helpful. So we’re fairly confident that our numbers are going to go above where we were last year. Of course, this last five weeks before the event is when a big influx of registration comes in. But we’re on pace to be ahead of last year, which is always a nice position to be in.”

COVA considers the Pac Am to be an important marketing tool for this region’s golf facilities, as the overwhelming majority of each year’s tournament participants live someplace other than Central Oregon.

But if the Pac Am does grow again, it will not be because its organizers have changed much with the tournament.

The format — 54 holes of flighted stroke play followed by a championship round at Sunriver Resort’s Crosswater Club — has remained consistent. And after being staged in August for three years, the Pac Am this year will be played in late September for the second year in a row.

The most noticeable change in 2014 will be the addition of Aspen Lakes Golf Course in Sisters, Juniper Golf Course in Redmond and Widgi Creek Golf Club in Bend, three courses that will return to the rotation of Pac Am venues after each spent several years away from the tournament.

The added courses, Hughson says, come as a direct response to a survey of Pac Am participants, who indicated they wanted more area courses in the mix.

“We have so many good courses in Central Oregon that when the players are saying that they would like to have some courses brought back into the rotation, it’s wonderful news for us,” Hughson says. “The reason that we wanted to introduce more courses, even if it means the courses are in the rotation for fewer days, is that then the participants themselves will start talking about the courses they’ve played. And if it’s a course that another participant has not played, they get excited about it. And they may either come in early or extend the stay to play additional courses. And that is EXACTLY the point of the Pacific Amateur.”

Finding golf courses that are willing to host the Pac Am, says Hughson, has not been difficult.

Bruce Wattenburger, the head professional at Juniper, says the tournament is still a strong marketing opportunity and does provide some income during an ordinarily slow time. But most of all, Juniper wanted to host again just to support the tournament, he says.

“Whether we are in the rotation or not, it gives Central Oregon the exposure of what we have here in the area,” Wattenburger says. “We get some residual play before and after the tournament also. The players that play in events like the Pac Am are the avid golfers who are looking mainly at golf and want to experience all golf courses, even the ones they are not playing in the tournament.”

Brad Hudspeth, the general manager at Widgi Creek, agrees.

“The Pac Am has always been a great partner for our local courses and it brings in 500 to 700 golfers, along with other family and friends, to the area, which is nice for all of Bend,” says Hudspeth.

The Pac Am, which is among the largest amateur golf tournaments of its kind, has had plenty to deal with in recent years.

A struggling economy had tamped down Central Oregon tourism in general. And since the Pac Am’s inception, similar golf tournaments have sprung up in places such as Palm Springs, California, and Mesquite, Nevada, which has crowded the market.

Despite all that, COVA is committed to keeping the Pac Am as a cornerstone event.

“The Pac Am will only continue as long as it makes sense for this destination,” Hughson says. “We continue to see that people want to be here, they want to compete, they want to play in the Pac Am. We’re 18 years into this and we don’t really see a big falloff. So we’re going to keep plugging along.”

— Reporter: 541-617-7868, zhall@bendbulletin.com.