Bad news for the PGA Tour. Computer Associates (CA) has dropped the World Golf Championships after this year.
I honestly don’t think they’ll have a problem finding a sponsor for this event. I’d expect to see a new one inside of a month.
From the Tour’s press release:
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla.—The PGA TOUR and CA announced Wednesday that CA will not renew its title sponsorship of the World Golf Championships event at TPC Blue Monster in Doral, Fla.
“Since 2006, CA has enjoyed an incredible partnership with the PGA TOUR,” said Bill Hughes, Corporate Senior Vice President, Global Communications. “Our sponsorship of the World Golf Championships further strengthened our relationships with our customers, raised the visibility of CA’s brand worldwide, and provided a strong platform for our philanthropic efforts. Going forward, CA will be executing a new corporate marketing program focused on delivering more regional events and customer relationship programs around the world.
“As a result, we will no longer sponsor the World Golf Championships beyond 2010. Importantly, CA will continue to work closely with the PGA TOUR to identify additional opportunities that align with our new marketing initiatives. We would like to thank all CA employees, PGA TOUR executives and the hundreds of volunteers, and our agency partners, who worked tirelessly to make the CA Championship a truly world-class event.”
PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem said: “On behalf of the International Federation of PGA Tours, I’d like to thank CA for its commitment to the World Golf Championships as a whole and the CA Championship in particular over the past four years.
“The CA Championship has been a strong part of golf’s tradition to give back to the communities in which events are played, and CA’s support has enabled more than $4 million to be returned to local charities since 2007. We look forward to identifying future opportunities with CA to align its marking objectives with the PGA TOUR and professional golf.
“The CA Championship has provided some amazing tournaments with thrilling finishes, and this year’s return to the winner’s circle by Ernie Els was no exception. There is a tremendous amount of interest in the World Golf Championships—the great fields, global exposure, incredible venues—and we will move forward in securing a new title sponsor for the CA Championship. We are confident we will be at TPC Blue Monster at Doral next year.”
Discover more from GolfBlogger Golf Blog
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.
I think Computer Associates made a rash decision at the height of the Tiger madness that they will regret in the future. Their brand has grown right along with Tiger’s. He’s easily still got 8 to 10 more years of competitive golf in him so they are going to lose out on general (non-golf) name brand recognition. What they should have done was stick it to the PGA and threaten to leave if they didn’t sweeten the ad deal.
Oooo.. hope they will get another sponsor. Lofe for golf
Did anyone see the posters at the blue monster advertising, 2 club house tickets for net years championship, rounds of golf in the summer all for a value of around $900, yet they had it as a special offer for a week for the price of $175… who else saw these posters???