London-based electronics, software and systems company
Invensys PLC has signed a three-year title sponsorship deal
for the PGA Tour's Las Vegas stop, effective with this
year's event in October. The tournament, formerly the Las
Vegas Invitational, will now be called the Invensys Classic
at Las Vegas, and the company pledged an increase in prize
money from $2.6M to $4.25M. The purse will increase to
$4.5M in 2001 and $5M in 2002. The final four rounds of the
five-round tournament are televised on ESPN (PGA Tour). In
Las Vegas, Kevin Iole writes that with the increase in prize
money, the event will now "feature the richest purse in a
co-sponsored" Tour event. Las Vegas Founder's Club
President Chris Byrd, on attracting marquee players:
"Perhaps next year we're going to have a shot at Tiger
[Woods]. ... I think when this news [of the Invensys deal]
gets out, we're going to see a lot of interest and
excitement among the players." Invensys CEO Allen Yurko
said that the company would bring "at least" 2,000 clients
to this year's tournament and "hoped to increase that to as
many as" 5,000 in succeeding years (L.V. REV-JOURNAL, 4/12).
CHIPS & PUTTS: GOLFWEEK's Gene Yasuda writes that as
the "premium golf ball category becomes more crowded than
ever, with nearly 10 major brands elbowing for position,"
many "established brands appear to be concentrating on
execution" in their marketing campaigns, instead of
"try[ing] to develop a novel approach altogether." Yasuda
adds that using "influential endorsers, ... paying more
attention to music and graphics, ... [and] writing better
copy" are among the methods currently being employed in the
campaigns of golf ball companies (GOLFWEEK, 4/8)....CA-based
McHenry Metals has signed PGA Tour player Fred Funk to an
endorsement deal. Funk will play the company's TourPure
driver in 2000, as he did in '98 and '99 (McHenry Metals).
The AP's Doug Ferguson reports that Jean Van de Velde
"returned to the scene of his infamous follies" at last
year's British Open to film a 30-minute infomercial for
Never Compromise putters. Van de Velde triple-bogeyed the
18th hole at last year's British Open, but in the
infomercial he "only used his putter" when he played the
hole. The infomercial "was to debut" yesterday on The Golf
Channel and will air again Sunday on CNBC (AP, 4/12).
