P.H. Horgan III hasn’t given up playing golf, but his focus now turns to organizing regional pro touraments.

The Providence Journal / Kris Craig

BELLINGHAM –– Patrick Henry Horgan III has always done things a bit differently than most. The Newport resident has followed the path less traveled for his entire career, so why should his latest venture be any different?

The PGA Tour veteran was back on a golf course yesterday, at New England Country Club. That was good news in itself, considering that Horgan has had to overcome numerous injury and health issues in recent years, most recently cancer in his eye.

This time, though, it was for a different reason. This was the start of a new career.

He was not P.H. Horgan, the player. He was P.H. Horgan, the tournament organizer.

It was the inaugural event of the Golfers Warehouse Tour, a tournament won by Steve Alminas of East Longmeadow, Mass. The 23-year-old recorded a 4-under-par 67, giving him a 36-hole total of 6-under 136. That gave him the first-place check of $5,700 as he beat two Johnson & Wales grads, Jim Renner and Michael Welch, by two strokes.

It all came about because of Horgan and his partner, Mary Heath. Mini-tour golf in the region appeared dead when the New England Tour, also called the Cleveland Tour, folded a year ago. It left players such as Alminas, Renner and Welch, all of whom grew up in this area, without a place to play near home.

Until Horgan and Heath stepped in, that is. Those two have formed an events-management company. Horgan, a member of the PGA Tour for 10 years, knows golf. Heath, who is from Jamestown, has worked in public relations, especially involving golf. She did the promotional work for the CVS Charity Classic for years before launching her own agency with Horgan.

The two are acting as agents for athletes, including PGA Tour player Brad Adamonis of Cumberland and Olympic sailor Ken Read of Barrington. They are also helping promote and represent a number of other events. Now, they have added sponsorship of a golf tour.

“It’s my way of not leaving the game,” Horgan said. “I’m still a part of it this way. I feel I can bring something to this experience. I played all over the world in all kinds of professional golf tournaments. Hopefully, these guys respect me for what I’ve done. Hopefully, they’ll appreciate the advice I’ll give them. I want to help them.”

Using their contacts and backgrounds in the game, Horgan and Heath signed on the New England-based Golfers Warehouse company as the title sponsor.

“It was a no-brainer when Patrick and Mary came to us,” said Mark Dube, the Golfers Warehouse president, who took in the tournament yesterday. “There is definitely a need for this type of tour in this area.”

Following the CVS model, Golfers Warehouse has signed some of its biggest suppliers to help out. Yesterday’s event was the Callaway Pro Golf Classic. Events later this summer will be sponsored by Mizuno and Nikegolf.

“There is a need for it,” Horgan agreed. “At one time, I was at a point in my career where I needed a place to play and there really wasn’t one. There were the state opens, which were nice, but I needed more than that.”

The tour is starting on a relatively small scale. It will sponsor only five events this summer. Organizers have worked with the state opens to ensure that their tournaments fit in open spaces and only add to what is done by the region’s six state associations.

“There are more people playing golf now, more people playing professional golf who are really good,” Horgan said. “There are not enough places on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour, not enough spots. Players need a place to go to hone their skills and get ready. There are a lot of kids playing out here who have said, ‘Hey, thanks for putting this together. We want to stay around New England. We don’t want to travel so far away.’ There are developmental tours down south, out west. The young players here should have a place to play, too.”

“I’m kind of at the end of my career, which I loved,” Horgan went on. “I probably was a bit of an overachiever. I probably had no business playing the tour for 10 years.”

Horgan was an All-State football player at Rogers High and went to URI to play football. He made himself into a top-level golfer through determination and hard work. He won on the Nationwide Tour and played on the PGA Tour for a decade. He fought through shoulder, wrist and hip surgeries. He beat cancer as well. As recently as last month, he qualified for the Travelers Championship, the PGA Tour event in Cromwell, Conn.

Yesterday, he was at the course by 6 a.m.

“It’s funny. I had the same sense of anxiety and stress that I have when I play,” he said. “But it wasn’t about golf. It was about setting up signs. Getting the water ready and out on the course, checking on players and their commitment (for future events).

“I’d like these guys to experience the same things I did,” he said. “I want to convey to them that if I can do it, they can do it. I know a lot of these kids will.”

pkenyon@projo.com