Report: Cadillac set to become title sponsor of World Golf Championship event
General Motors (GM) is on the verge of becoming the title sponsor for the World Golf Championship at Doral, according to a report today by Michael Smith of the Sports Business Journal.
WGC events, which often have bigger payout than the majors, are run by the International Federation of PGA Tours.
“GM, which declared bankruptcy in June 2009, was absent from the golf sponsorship scene this year as it restructured and repaid $6.7 billion in TARP funds to the U.S. Treasury,” wrote
Smith. “But an agreement with the PGA Tour that could span multiple tournaments would send a strong signal that the auto maker is ready to spend again.”
CA was the previous sponsor of the WGC event but saw its contract expire after last year’s tournament. When CA chose not to renew their contract, Doral became the lone WGC event – of which
there are four – without a title sponsor.
According to the report, GM is ready to put the Cadillac name on the March tournament, one of many PGA Tour events without a title sponsor going into next year. The sponsorship could span
numerous tournaments, according to the report.
Another GM brand, Buick, has been very active in PGA Tour sponsorships, at one point having a title sponsorship of four tour events and a high-profile deal with Tiger Woods. But Cadillac
is poised to up its involvement with the tour, seeing it as a good fit.
“With that brand (Buick) looking to market to a younger audience, industry sources say, Cadillac is now considered the better fit for the PGA Tour," Smith wrote.
Cadillac has had a significant presence at golf events in the past, especially on the Champions Tour.
There are currently four events without a title sponsor next year: the Bob Hope Classic in California, the Heritage in South Carolina, the St. Jude Classic in Memphis, and the Reno-Tahoe
Open.
But the Doral event is the biggest-profile event without a sponsor. WGC events typically cost more than regular PGA Tour events for one year of sponsorship, with the former costing about
$10 million while the latter can be had for $7-8 million.
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