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Senior
Tour likely will bypass
Utah
next year
Friday,
November 1, 2002
By Mike Sorensen
Deseret News sports writer
The PGA Tour held a press conference in Florida Wednesday to announce
the organization's three "Tours" are becoming more closely
aligned as part of one brand family and two will have new names.
Unfortunately for local golf fans, it looks like just one of the
tours will be coming to Utah next year instead of two.
Starting in 2003, the Senior PGA Tour will be called the Champions
Tour and the Buy.com Tour will be known as the Nationwide Tour,
while the regular PGA Tour will retain its name.
Although no announcement has been made, it appears the longtime
senior event that has been played at Jeremy Ranch and Park Meadows
Country Club for two decades is on its last legs. According to tournament
executive director Bryan Naugle,
"we're running out of time."
The senior event, most recently called the Uniting Fore Care Classic,
has struggled to find and keep sponsors throughout its 20-year history.
Now that Novell's four-year commitment has run out, the tournament
has failed to come up with a new sponsor.
"I don't have anything going," said Naugle, who has been
the executive director since 1997 ."I'm still hoping someone
steps forward and becomes the sponsor. I need a title sponsor. But
we have a limited amount of time left."
Naugle had similar words four years ago when the Park City event
couldn't
find a sponsor after the 1998 tournament. But the PGA Tour gave
the tournament a one-year reprieve and the following spring Novell
signed a four-year $6 million contract. As for a timetable, Naugle
said he
has about two weeks left and he indicated the Senior Tour isn't
likely to have as much patience with his tournament this time. He
said other senior events are having similar sponsor troubles and
the senior schedule may be whittled to 30 next year, down ftom a
high of 39 in 2000.
"We're not the only ones having trouble, but it doesn't make
it any better to see one next to you sinking also," said Naugle.
"I'm still hopeful, but it's not looking good."
On the positive side, the newly named Nationwide Tour will return
to Utah in 2003. Utah Classic executive director Evan Eyers is back
in Florida for meetings with the PGA Tour and before he left he
said he was close to raising enough sponsor money for next year.
Eyers is hoping to get an earlier date for the annual event at Willow
Creek Country Club than the September dates his tournament has traditionally
been given.
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