Tour Gets Burned Again

Filed in archive Golf News on February 24, 2009

The Beleaguered Commish

2009 is going to be a year that Tim Finchem will want to forget. If he survives it intact.

There is a body of study called Socionomics, the brainchild of Robert Prechter (Elliott Wave Theory) that argues it is social mood that determines market direction and ultimately economic direction.

In euphoric times - just before asset bubbles burst - an unpleasant characteristic often manifests, according to Socionomics: rampant cheating, fraud and financial exploitation.

Bernie Madoff is one human face we can put to that characteristic; Allen Stanford is another.

Corporate entities, too, can sometimes become embroiled in this mire. Enron was a perfect example in its time. Merrill Lynch proffering enormous bonuses on the eve of its takeover by Bank of America (with substantial taxpayer dollars) is another.

And the investigation underway into the dealings of Swiss financial giant, UBS, is yet another.

UBS is a major sponsor of the PGA Tour's Tour Championship. Now it's under federal investigation for assisting many of its wealthy American clients to cheat the IRS out of its fair share of tax revenue.

In fact, UBS has cried "uncle" on this and agreed to pay nearly 800 million dollars to close the investigation - possibly before even more unpleasantness turns up.

Will UBS remain a Tour sponsor for much longer? It's doubtful.

Likewise, we can be fairly assured that Stanford Bank, sponsor of the Tour's Memphis event this June will also bow out.

Both Stanford and Madoff specialized in the classic Ponzi scheme. That's illegal. So, likely, are the actions surrounding the disappearance of 8 billion dollars from Stanford's Antigua bank.

At any rate, Stanford Bank's assets have been frozen.

These are not the sorts of sponsors the PGA Tour - or any other Tour that has done business with major financial firms - wants to dance the Tango with.

The problem is in finding other well-heeled sponsors outside the financial sector that are willing to fill the void.

The PGA's image, rightly or wrongly, has been tarnished by association with these companies and individuals.

Perhaps the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank would be interested in a few sponsorships - in exchange for preferred shares, of course.