St. Louis Proves Impressive Host For BMW Championship, PGA Tour

Tournament Official Feels St. Louis Exceeded  Expectations In Hosting BMW Championships

Despite all of the "logistical nightmares brought on by the torrential rain" at last week's PGA Tour BMW Championship at Bellerive CC, St. Louis "may have just worked its way onto the PGA Tour's exclusive calendar for the near and distant future," according to Bryan Burwell of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. BMW Championship Exec Dir John Kaczkowski: "I don't know what the PGA thinks, but I'm very impressed with St. Louis. These crowds have been unbelievable." Burwell writes, "From what I've seen and heard, St. Louis can probably add 'great golf town' to its already extensive resume as a city with a sizable and knowledgeable appetite for sports. From the 10,000 spectators who showed up on a dreary Wednesday for that rainy pro-am to the 100,000-plus who streamed through the gates over the weekend, [St. Louis] seems to have put itself on the tourney map." Burwell notes the "earliest the BMW could come back to St. Louis is probably 2014" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 9/9).

RYDER CUP: In Louisville, Alex Davis reported one of the "biggest beneficiaries" of the Ryder Cup, which will be played September 19-21 at Valhalla GC in Louisville, is the PGA, which also owns Valhalla. PGA of America CEO Joe Steranka said that the PGA "stands to make [$20-25M] from the event after expenses," adding that TV rights are the "most lucrative source of money." The PGA also "keeps proceeds from merchandise, tickets and corporate hospitality tents." Meanwhile, Davis noted Louisville tourism and economic development officials "have been predicting the golf competition will bring $120[M] to the metro area -- from packed hotels and restaurants to new part-time jobs related to the event." But Louisville Ryder Cup Task Force Chair Stan Curtis said that number is "ridiculously low." Curtis estimated that the event will bring in $150M or more. Curtis: "This thing will economically be a tremendous boon. I'm totally on the positive side. We're rockin' and rollin'." But sports consultants who have studied previous Ryder Cup tournaments said that the "overall economic benefit will be closer to $50[M]." Greater Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau VP/Bureau Services Doris Sims said that "out of roughly 18,000 hotel rooms in the metro area, only a few hundred are still available for Ryder Cup week" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 9/8).