Brendan Porath of Fried Egg Golf didn’t mince words when reacting to the PGA Tour’s latest rebrand. The Greensboro‑area tournament, a long fixture at Sedgefield Country Club, will now be called GO by Raymond James and Porath thinks the name is a disaster.
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“This new event in Greensboro that they’re just calling GO by Raymond James is a mockery. It’s disgusting. Go. It’s stupid. It’s so damn stupid,” he said on a recent podcast. “You’re calling it Go? What? It’s the Greensboro. What are you calling it? The Go Classic, the Go Challenge? … It doesn’t elevate your league in any way.”
The PGA Tour, Piedmont Triad Charitable Foundation, and Raymond James announced the change on Wednesday. The event will continue at Sedgefield CC from August 2–8, 2027, before joining the PGA Tour Championship Series in 2028.
Raymond James, with an enterprise value of $39 billion, signed a multi‑year sponsorship deal. Yet the backlash stems from the tournament’s rich history. Founded in 1938, the tournament spent 31 years at Forest Oaks CC before returning to Sedgefield in 2008. For many fans, the minimalist “GO” branding feels out of step with that tradition.
Japanese Sponsor Replaced Rocket Classic
The Greensboro rebrand isn’t the only shake‑up. The Rocket Classic in Detroit ended after its sponsor declined to renew. In its place, Japanese insurer Sompo signed a multi‑year agreement to back a full‑field tournament beginning in 2027. That event will debut at Silverado Resort in Napa Valley, though the name and long‑term location remain undecided.
These changes reflect the Tour’s broader effort to restructure events under the new Championship Series starting in 2028.
While the Rocket Classic’s exit drew little drama, Porath’s sharp critique of “GO by Raymond James” highlights how much names matter in golf. Whether the Tour reconsiders the branding or doubles down remains to be seen. For now, the Greensboro event’s new identity is already one of the most talked‑about sponsorship moves of the season.