Filed in archive Golf News by Chris Henry on June 9, 2008

There is word today from the PGA Commissioner's office that the AT&T Classic, which has graced the fair southern city of Atlanta, Georgia for 40 years is no more.

AT&T has decided to pull the plug.

The tournament, which many of us remember best as the BellSouth Classic, was unable to find another sponsor for next year.

Commissioner Tim Finchem said the lack of a sponsor on the immediate horizon meant it was time for the Tour to move on.

The Atlanta Classic Foundation, which oversaw the tournament and organized it each year beat the bushes but turned up nothing.

There are several reasons why a major U.S. city like Atlanta - just 141 miles from Augusta, home of The Masters- can't find a sponsor for a PGA golf tournament but in the end, it boils down to one big reason. The U.S. economy is in recession, dragged down by oil prices that keep going higher and higher (thanks to rampant speculation but don't get me going on that. It ain't all demand from China and India - their economies are grinding down, too).

Forget existing home sales reports and pending home sales reports that showed strength from April to May in America; the country's economy is tanking.

Atlanta is one of the cities in the United States where real estate foreclosures are going crazy. Even former heavyweight champ, Evander Holyfield, is trying to unload his 17-bathroom monster on the outskirts of Atlanta to avoid foreclosure. Mind you, anyone who dribbles away a 200 million dollar net worth probably deserves such ignominy.

If you have 10 million U.S., you can snap it up today. Or you can wait until it goes up for auction on July 1 and get it for 50 cents on the dollar.

So, the demise of a 40 year old tournament on the PGA Tour comes down to an economy in the grips of what could be a long and torturous recession. There simply isn't the money flowing through the taps of Atlanta corporations, anymore.

And it begs the obvious question: how many more PGA tournaments will disappear for the same reason?

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Permalink: Atlanta Loses 40 Year Old Tournament

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Vote for Atlanta Loses 40 Year Old Tournament:

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Rating: 10.00 out of 4 vote(s) cast.

Response from: Mr Business Golf (06/19/08 11:12am)

The pull out of sponsors for professional golf tournaments is truly concerning and on the most part are part of a bigger picture that can be focused on most corporations not understanding the tangible values of begin a sponsor of a PGA or LPGA event. The sagging economy is just a convenient excuse to jump on that they can assure will rationalize their reason for reporting sagging profits. The truth is, their pull out of these highly promoted events is what is really a case of them shooting themselves in the foot (or ass in some cases)and is what is causing their sag in profits.

From my studies for the past 3 years, over 85% of the corporate sponsors who pull out of PGA or LPGA events claim they are not getting an ROI..duh! That is because everyone one of them have no idea how to use the professional golf events to produce a return.
These pull outs of sponsors for these long running golf tournaments are seen by the small business world as indications of what they should do. Nothing could be further from the opposite of what they need to do. Their reaction to pull out of golf because they saw in WJ that a Fortune 100 pulled out is done without attempting to understand the true reason why they are pulling out. The reations in most cases I reviewed has most telling me they are pulling out of having anything to do with golf..including playing golf anymore.
Truly, there is a very big problem with these corporations understanding of golf and professional golf events which if something is not done could jepordize golf as we know it today...open to everyone to play.

The PGA and LPGA are doing what they can to approach these corporations to salvage these events, but they are looked at by these corporations as the 'Wolf asking for the Keys to the Henhouse'. Naturally the PGA is going to not want to stop generating their member's a paycheck..including their own so corporate America (or World)sees their attempts as just attempts of self preservation.

What has to take place in order to keep golf on TV so people can enjoy what we watched during the 2008 US Open is there has to be a re-education of corporate America on how to obtain the ROI their non-golfing C Suite Executives and stockholders demand.

Hummm..I wonder who could do this for the PGA and LPGA?
Great blog and great points of view here,it up.

Response from: chris (06/19/08 9:31pm)

Scot - Many thanks for the comment. I know how much news like this stings your soul!! And I agree that many corporations don't leverage their sponsorships to their fullest advantage, insofar as generating business is concerned. However the Atlanta tournament had a pretty savvy sponsor in AT&T who are still involved with the Pebble Beach Pro Am (so far). Their withdrawal may or may not be for valid business reasons but the lack of another corporation stepping up is, I still believe, an indication of severe economic weakness in the regional market in the U.S. South. Anyway, U.S. jobless numbers out today show a slower than expected increase, so maybe we'll be out of the Woods soon!