Finchem Fudges Future

Filed in archive Golf Business on January 20, 2009

PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem had some interesting things to say about what the Tour faces, given the current economic situation.

Remember, that situation is what Barack Obama referred to as a "crisis" in his inauguration speech yesterday in Washington.

Finchem will probably run for the Senate when he steps down as commish; that's how good he is at dancing around tough questions.

He was asked - oddly - by PGATour.com whether he felt better about "things" now than he did 3 or 4 months ago.

His response was that he was "more concerned about the economy..." but "as far as the PGA Tour, not too much different".

Huh?

He then quotes Arnold Palmer as saying the Tour might come out of the economic stink better than some other businesses.

"And I hope he's right", Finchem continues, "It's just going to be a struggle".

You'd better believe it is.

There is only one way the Tour will avoid a drastic reduction in tournaments in the next 12 to 18 months and that is if it slashes the purses for events this year and next.

The first thing to go in any economic downturn is the marketing budget.

The first thing to go in a depression is everything that doesn't relate directly to a company's core business, whether Arnie and Tim think otherwise or not.