Orlando remains a two-stop shop for the PGA Tour.
For at least one more year, anyway.
The tour today is set to announce the details of its much-debated, much-delayed fall schedule for 2007, and the Walt Disney World event, a staple on the circuit since it was won by Jack Nicklaus some 35 years ago, is still on the list.
Disney, which hasn't yet secured a title sponsor for next year, on Monday signed a one-year contract extension with the tour that ends after the 2007 event. No commitment has been made beyond that point, which allows Disney a chance to secure a new sponsor with minimal long-term risk. Most tournaments sign multiyear deals as a matter of course.
"It gives the PGA Tour and Disney a chance to have a little more flexibility," Disney tournament director Kevin Weickel said.
While Disney was unable to extend its current agreement with title sponsor Funai, which expires when the tournament ends on Oct. 22, it did secure what's arguably the best available spot in the new fall lineup.
The tournament next year is set for Nov 1-4 and will serve as the last of the season, which means several players will be fighting desperately to retain their playing status by finishing in the top 125 on the money list. It'll add a new layer of tension to what typically has been a fairly low-key family-oriented event. The purse will remain at the current level of $4.6 million.
"I can't imagine a better spot for us on the schedule," Weickel said.
The 2007 calendar will undergo wholesale changes in style and substance from beginning to end. The tour unveiled the most sweeping overhaul in its history by implementing the NASCAR-style FedEx Cup race for '07, which left some fall events in the lurch. The FedEx Cup points race, which ends in mid-September, repeatedly has been promoted as the "season-ending playoffs" by tour brass and offers huge purses to elite players who no longer are expected to play into the fall.
No question, it created the impression that fall lineup has been marginalized, if not rendered mostly irrelevant, a perception that Commissioner Tim Finchem will have to address today when he outlines the schedule in Akron, Ohio. Fall tournaments and title sponsors have been forced to take a hard look at whether there's enough bang for their buck if the stars decline to play that late into the year.
"I still don't think that is going to happen," Weickel said. "It may be more sporadic over time, but I still think plenty of these guys are going to want to play."
In recruiting new sponsors, fall events also face the diminished market penetration of the tour's new broadcast partner, The Golf Channel, which doesn't generate eye-popping ratings. This year marks the final time the Disney event will be broadcast on ABC and ESPN, two house-owned companies.
Disney negotiated with Funai for months but was unable to secure an extension. Weickel said that if Disney locates a sponsor over the short term, it might extend the length of its tour contract accordingly.
"That's a bridge we'll cross when we get to it," Weickel said.
If not, Disney, which claims Tiger Woods as a two-time winner, has run the event on its own dime before -- and recently. National Car Rental, the title sponsor before Funai took over, filed for bankruptcy and didn't pay its naming-rights fees for two years beginning in 2001. The tournament was staged as the Disney Golf Classic in 2002.
A high-ranking Disney official said recently that the tournament, which draws in the neighborhood of 50,000 fans for the week, typically has struggled to make a modest profit. But since the tournament helps position Disney World as a world-class golf resort, it's been worth the investment.
"We're an entertainment group," Weickel said. "When you reach into the cup after you finish playing the 18th hole here, you know some of the greatest players in the world have done the exact-same thing. It's a great entertainment piece."
Orlando remains the only city in America with two full-field tour events. The renamed Arnold Palmer Invitational, held at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, is held in mid-March.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...?coll=orl-sports-headlines&ref=wdwhistory.com
For at least one more year, anyway.
The tour today is set to announce the details of its much-debated, much-delayed fall schedule for 2007, and the Walt Disney World event, a staple on the circuit since it was won by Jack Nicklaus some 35 years ago, is still on the list.
Disney, which hasn't yet secured a title sponsor for next year, on Monday signed a one-year contract extension with the tour that ends after the 2007 event. No commitment has been made beyond that point, which allows Disney a chance to secure a new sponsor with minimal long-term risk. Most tournaments sign multiyear deals as a matter of course.
"It gives the PGA Tour and Disney a chance to have a little more flexibility," Disney tournament director Kevin Weickel said.
While Disney was unable to extend its current agreement with title sponsor Funai, which expires when the tournament ends on Oct. 22, it did secure what's arguably the best available spot in the new fall lineup.
The tournament next year is set for Nov 1-4 and will serve as the last of the season, which means several players will be fighting desperately to retain their playing status by finishing in the top 125 on the money list. It'll add a new layer of tension to what typically has been a fairly low-key family-oriented event. The purse will remain at the current level of $4.6 million.
"I can't imagine a better spot for us on the schedule," Weickel said.
The 2007 calendar will undergo wholesale changes in style and substance from beginning to end. The tour unveiled the most sweeping overhaul in its history by implementing the NASCAR-style FedEx Cup race for '07, which left some fall events in the lurch. The FedEx Cup points race, which ends in mid-September, repeatedly has been promoted as the "season-ending playoffs" by tour brass and offers huge purses to elite players who no longer are expected to play into the fall.
No question, it created the impression that fall lineup has been marginalized, if not rendered mostly irrelevant, a perception that Commissioner Tim Finchem will have to address today when he outlines the schedule in Akron, Ohio. Fall tournaments and title sponsors have been forced to take a hard look at whether there's enough bang for their buck if the stars decline to play that late into the year.
"I still don't think that is going to happen," Weickel said. "It may be more sporadic over time, but I still think plenty of these guys are going to want to play."
In recruiting new sponsors, fall events also face the diminished market penetration of the tour's new broadcast partner, The Golf Channel, which doesn't generate eye-popping ratings. This year marks the final time the Disney event will be broadcast on ABC and ESPN, two house-owned companies.
Disney negotiated with Funai for months but was unable to secure an extension. Weickel said that if Disney locates a sponsor over the short term, it might extend the length of its tour contract accordingly.
"That's a bridge we'll cross when we get to it," Weickel said.
If not, Disney, which claims Tiger Woods as a two-time winner, has run the event on its own dime before -- and recently. National Car Rental, the title sponsor before Funai took over, filed for bankruptcy and didn't pay its naming-rights fees for two years beginning in 2001. The tournament was staged as the Disney Golf Classic in 2002.
A high-ranking Disney official said recently that the tournament, which draws in the neighborhood of 50,000 fans for the week, typically has struggled to make a modest profit. But since the tournament helps position Disney World as a world-class golf resort, it's been worth the investment.
"We're an entertainment group," Weickel said. "When you reach into the cup after you finish playing the 18th hole here, you know some of the greatest players in the world have done the exact-same thing. It's a great entertainment piece."
Orlando remains the only city in America with two full-field tour events. The renamed Arnold Palmer Invitational, held at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, is held in mid-March.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...?coll=orl-sports-headlines&ref=wdwhistory.com
