This week's announcement by Anheuser-Busch that the company
would not renew its sponsorship with the LPGA Tour's Michelob Ultra Open at
Kingsmill essentially ends one of women's golf's most popular and prestigious
tournaments. The event's cancellation also calls attention to the gaping hole
that's been opened in the Tour's May 2010 schedule.
Earlier this year, the LPGA Corning Classic was the first shoe to drop. Citing that the tournament had become economically unfeasible, Tournament President Jack Benjamin announced in late April that the LPGA Tour's longest-running event with the same title sponsor played at the same venue would not return in 2010. The Corning Classic was first played in 1979.
"It shocks me, and I still am - I don't know how we lost this tournament," said Paula Creamer after her final round at the Corning in May. "It's a great event, brings so many people and had a great field this year.
"I think that, you know, with the schedule the way that they've been going, I think this field would have gotten stronger and stronger as years went on," she added. "But it is so unfortunate, and as a player, I will miss this event just as much as the volunteers are going to miss coming because it really does mean a lot to me."
"I know that the players and the Tour, and anybody that's ever played here at the Corning Classic, past champions and players that are no longer on the Tour feel the same way about losing a tournament of this magnitude," said retired player Rosie Jones, who won the event back to back in 1996 and 1997. "It's not one of our big, huge events on Tour. But it was a big heartfelt event. It was one of our signature tournaments. And those are hard to come by, and those are hard to keep."
Earlier this month New Jersey's Star-Ledger was the first to report that the Sybase Classic, the only May 2009 event with a contract through 2010, would be leaving the Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, New Jersey. The club had hosted the tournament for the past three years.
Tournament director and Club President Tony Vespa told the Star-Leger that the decision to leave Upper Montclair was based on the desires of tournament organizers to explore the idea of changing the event's format.
"I think Sybase is rethinking their commitment and evaluating what makes sense for them as a corporation and the money they spend in this economic environment," Vespa told the Star-Ledger. "Perhaps, a different format and perhaps, a different venue makes more sense for them. To me, it's as simple as that."
But is it?
The Star-Ledger concluded its report by speculating that this move could foreshadow a more dramatic move still to come.
"According to a source familiar with the decision-making process of the tournament, part of the reason for the departure may lie with the title sponsor itself: Sybase," the report stated. "The source, who didn't want to be identified because all Tour-related news is supposed to be issued by the LPGA Tour, said that Sybase is pulling out of its sponsorship of the tournament altogether."
I'm not buying the part about all Tour-related news being issued by the LPGA Tour. It makes the LPGA sound like a communist regime and the new Carolyn Bivens, Marsha Evans sound like Kim Jong Il.
But if Sybase were to pull out of the 2010 schedule before its contract with the Tour expired, the LPGA would be left with exactly zero tournaments scheduled for May. This year there were only three events played in May: Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill (May 7-10); Sybase Classic (May 14-17); LPGA Corning Classic (May 21-24).
Overall, the LPGA Tour will play 27 events in 2009, down from 34 in 2007. According to the Tour, 18 events are confirmed for 2010.
While the uncertainty surrounding the Sybase Classic and the loss of the long-running Corning Classic were both detrimental to the LPGA Tour's cause, the loss of the Michelob Ultra Open is devastating.
At $2.2 million, the purse was one of the highest on the LPGA Tour. Then, take a look at the past champions of the event: Grace Park (2003), Se Ri Pak (2004), Cristie Kerr (2005), Karrie Webb (2006), Suzann Pettersen (2007), Annika Sorenstam (2008) and Kerr (2009).
Despite the loss Eric Albrecht, vice president of marketing for the Tour, said that "from a tournament standpoint, we've made great progress in the last six weeks."
The LPGA has received some good news over the past month and a half. Recently, Wegmans, Jamie Farr and P&G Beauty all decided to renew sponsorship agreements and return in 2010. Also, Rolex signed on to become presenting sponsor of the Tour Championship, which will be held in Houston this November.
Still, losing the Michelob Ultra Open is tantamount to College Football losing the Cotton Bowl or the Peach Bowl; I refuse to refer to it as the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
The LPGA's "fifth major" is no more, and next May the Tour's players could have more time on their hands than they know what to do with.