Tourney Officials Looking Ahead To ’08 Wachovia Championship

Wachovia’s Ken Thompson (l) Looks On As Woods Addresses Crowd

After some hospitality packages for the PGA Tour Wachovia Championship “started selling out in November and all were gone by early this year,” the tournament is “testing another hospitality venue aimed at firms looking to pay a little less than top dollar,” according to Rick Rothacker of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. During last week’s event, there was a “new spot along the 18th fairway for companies interested in signing up” for the ’08 tournament. It likely will cost $25,000-30,000 for ten tickets, food and beverage and could hold as many as 200 people from multiple companies. Officials also are “considering a special ticket that would provide access to multiple tents.” Of the 35,000 people who attend the event each day, “about 6,600 visit as part of a hospitality package, up from about 6,000 a few years ago.” But officials also noted that there is “only so much real estate at Quail Hollow Club to put tents and still keep the course’s upscale, uncluttered look” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/6).

BUZZ: In a Q&A with the OBSERVER’s Rothacker, Wachovia Chair & CEO Ken Thompson said of the event’s pro-am last Wednesday, which featured Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods in the same group, “It was great for Wachovia. We got wonderful publicity” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/5). Woods: “Wachovia does a wonderful job, and on top of that, the fans come out here and just support this tournament like no other. We don’t get fans like this each and every venue we go to” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/7).

STAYING ON THE AIR: In Charlotte, Ron Green Jr. reported that when it became apparent Saturday’s final pairing of Woods and Vijay Singh “would only be through approximately nine holes when the CBS window would close, Wachovia officials began working the telephone to make sure viewers got to see all the action.” Wachovia Senior VP and Dir of Sponsorships & Alliances Dan Fleishman “essentially broker[ed] the deal” to air the remainder on Golf Channel. Fleishman: “We let them know how important this was to us. ... We really appreciate CBS stepping forward and doing this” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/6). Thompson said yesterday, “I want to thank CBS for going out of its way to make the broadcast available to the Golf Channel [Saturday] night. That was a great thing for golf fans” (CBS, 5/6).

TIGER: In N.Y., Phil Mushnick noted Golf Channel “did something rare” Thursday, staying with live PGA Tour golf past 6:00pm ET because Woods had not yet completed his round. The only other time in the last three months that the net stayed with live coverage was also to show Woods finishing a round (N.Y. POST, 5/6). In Charlotte, Tom Sorensen writes, “Tiger’s influence is such that there are only two tournaments on the PGA Tour: Those with Tiger and those without.” Sorensen noted Woods’ picture appears on the newspaper’s front page today for a record fifth consecutive day (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/7).