Las Vegas to have FedEx points from now on
Big news came out over the weekend as it was announced that Las Vegas will now have FedEx points as well. It is a major boost for the organizers. As a result of their FedEx point recognition, they will now be attracting famous players to the event.
In the past many players have skipped this event because it was held in the fall and it had no value in terms of FedEx points.
The tournament will be held in October, 2013, and chances are that players like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will be heading to the field.
"I think this is the light that we were all kind of reaching for," Tournament Director Adam Sperling said. "To be able to attain it is a great success for everybody involved and the city of Las Vegas".
The tournament has also agreed to extend its sponsorship deal with Justin Timberlake’s hospital, Shriners Hospitals for Children.
"Shriners Hospitals for Children has been a very active and supportive sponsor since 2008," PGA Tour Operations Chief Andy Pazder said.
It is a major boost for the tournament, to have FedEx points awarded to the players. Previously, it was the lower ranked players who used to come to Vegas in order to keep their tour cards for the next season.
However, now many players will be shuffling their schedule to play in this event. Tiger last played at Vegas in 1997, and Mickelson took part back in 2003 but we might see a change in the trends now.
Fans have always come in great numbers to the event, last year the attendance was around 35,000. If we look at the last four years, the number of people showing up to cheer the players, have been increasing.
Apart from the attendance growth, the tournament has always been supported by its community.
However, with the event having FedEx points, people will work even harder to make this tournament a big success.
"Certainly, we anticipate a stronger field with some more recognizable names," Sperling said. "We have seen our attendance grow each of the last three years, so we are trending in the right direction. It should be the catalyst to really excel”.
Tags: