AmEx has become an umbrella sponsor of the four new
World Golf Championship events that will debut in '99, and
will serve as the primary sponsor of the November stroke
play event, which will be called the American Express
Championship. The first two AmEx Championships, which will
be the season-ending events for both the PGA and European
PGA Tours, will be held at Spain's Valderrama Golf Club in
'99 and 2000. AmEx joins Andersen Consulting and NEC
Invitational as title sponsors for the first three World
Golf events. The fourth, which does not begin play until
the year 2000, does not have a title sponsor (WGC).
GOLF BIZ NOTES: National Car Rental has signed on as
title sponsor of the PGA Tour's Walt Disney World Golf
Classic (PGA Tour)....Despite Nike's recent troubles, its
golf division remains healthy. Hambrecht & Quist analyst
Shelly Hale-Young: "Golf is one of the bright spots in
Nike's universe right now. ... I don't anticipate it'll be
affected by the [company's] restructuring" (Gene Yasuda,
GOLFWEEK, 3/21 issue)....Senior golfer Harry Toscano, who is
suing the PGA Tour over the Senior Tour's eligibility
criteria, "will begin advertising for contributors to help
pay his legal costs," and will take out ads in four
magazines "in the coming weeks" (GOLFWEEK, 3/21)....Tiger
Woods said he would like to enter the golf course design
business someday. Woods: "I have got some things in my head
that I want to incorporate into my own course design, but I
have to play more courses" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/26).
