- The PGA Tour is not immune to economic recessions in North America. Up to a dozen events are seeking title sponsors for 2003, and those Tour stops are the Buick Challenge, Canon Greater Hartford Open, Genuity Championship, International, Invensys Classic at Las Vegas, Memorial, Michelob Championship at Kingsmill, Phoenix Open, Reno-Tahoe Open, Valera Texas Open and WorldCom Classic/The Heritage of Golf.
A title sponsor generally refers to a company that is willing to come up with $5 million (all figures U.S.) to $7 million annually for an event, trading the finances for the right to put its name on a tournament. Aforementioned Canon Greater Hartford Open is an example. Typically, the event must offer a $5 million purse, and the title sponsor pays up to half of that. The title sponsor also funds up to $3 million of TV advertising time and other incidentals.
Every month except February on the Tour schedule has an event in a precarious state, yet most facing uncertain futures are those scheduled in the fall. Fall tournaments weren't overly successful anyway, competing mostly with pro and college football.
What's most ironic about such problems is that Tiger Woods may have to do the most with them.
Granted, Woods' drawing power has done wonders to television ratings, ticket sales and fan interests, but he has also rendered obsolete the tournaments he doesn't play. In other words, as much as his presence generates interest, his absence turns off sponsors, fans and TV audience. It's no mere coincidence that the majority of the struggling events are the ones Tiger has never played or did not play this year.
The obvious solution would be to get him in all 45 events on the slate, but that is simply not feasible.
- Continuing on the theme of economic hardships, the Air Canada Championship, to be held this week as the first of two PGA Tour stops in Canada, will likely fold after this year. Air Canada announced early last fall that it would not be renewing its four-year sponsorship deal with the tournament. Last week, the Royal Bank of Canada, a potential title sponsor, informed both PGA Tour officials and Air Canada Championship organizers that it would not be pursuing title sponsorship of a PGA Tour event in Canada.
The Royal Bank, along with International Management Group, originally proposed a celebrity-type tournament. However, with two major celebrity events in AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, the Tour rejected that proposal.
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