Gold Rush Classic Event
Two Days Of Golf. One Reason: Local Kids.
We spent the first weekend of August at Rancho Murieta Country Club as a sponsor of the 2026 Gold Rush Classic — a tournament that exists for one reason: to raise money for children and families in the Sacramento region.
A look back at the weekend. Video not loading? Watch it on YouTube.
The Gold Rush Classic came back to Rancho Murieta on August 6 and 7 for its seventh year, and it has grown into one of those events people around here plan their summer around. Players came in from all over the region. Celebrity guests turned up for the draft party and the skins challenge. And on Friday night the whole thing spilled out into a community concert that anybody could come to.
Underneath all of it is a straightforward idea. You get a few hundred people out on a golf course for two days, you make it fun enough that they want to come back next year, and the money goes to children and families who need it.
What The Weekend Looked Like
Thursday opened with the celebrity draft party, where teams found out who they would be playing alongside. Friday and Saturday were the tournament itself, with a $1 million hole‑in‑one contest sitting out there all weekend, tempting everybody who walked up to the tee.
The part that stuck with us was not on the leaderboard. It was the volunteers. Dozens of them worked the holes, ran food and drinks out to players in the heat, and kept the whole operation moving without ever asking for anything. An event this size only happens because people show up early and stay late for free.
Friday night closed with the “Stars & Guitars” concert, with The Cripple Creek Band playing to a crowd that included plenty of folks who had never picked up a golf club. That is the piece we like most about this tournament — it does not stay inside the ropes.
Scenes from the weekend at Rancho Murieta.
Where The Money Goes
The money raised at the Gold Rush Classic goes to organizations working with children and families, most of them right here in the Sacramento region. These are not abstractions to the people who live here — a lot of us know a family one of these groups has helped. Every one of them is worth a few minutes of your time:
The 2026 Beneficiaries
- Jordan’s Guardian Angels — the tournament’s founding cause, funding research into Jordan’s Syndrome, a rare genetic mutation, and supporting the families living with it.
- Pearls Of Life — founded by former Sacramento King Scot Pollard and his wife Dawn after his heart transplant, raising organ‑donation awareness and helping families through the transplant process.
- Make‑A‑Wish Northeastern & Central California — granting wishes for children facing critical illnesses, with the chapter headquarters right in Sacramento.
- 1st Tee Of Sacramento — youth development through golf, teaching the game alongside patience, honesty and confidence.
- Rancho Murieta Youth Programs — the local leagues and programs that keep kids in that community playing.
Why We Sponsor Things Like This
We sell and service Chevrolets for a living. That is the business. But a dealership is not really a building full of trucks — it is fifty‑odd people who live in Elk Grove, Sacramento, Galt, Wilton and Rancho Murieta, whose kids go to school here and play ball here.
So when an event comes along that puts money directly into children’s programs a few miles from our front door, the decision is not complicated. We would rather put our name on a weekend like this one than on one more billboard.
We would rather help where we can than talk about it.
This is not the only thing we do, and it is not meant to be. Throughout the year our store supports youth sports, school programs and local nonprofits around the Elk Grove and Sacramento area, usually without a camera anywhere near it. The Gold Rush Classic just happens to be one we could film.
Thank You
To the Gold Rush Classic organizers who spent a year putting this together, to the volunteers who made the days run, to the players and celebrity guests who came out, and to every other sponsor who stepped up: thank you. We are already looking forward to the eighth year.
Elk Grove Chevrolet — 9650 Auto Center Dr, Elk Grove, CA 95757
Planning a community event in the Elk Grove or Sacramento area and looking for a local sponsor? Give us a call and ask for the marketing team — we would like to hear about it. Event details above are provided by the organizers; visit goldrushclassic.org for official tournament, sponsorship and beneficiary information.
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