Singing The Blues: Stanford Name Off Memphis PGA Tour Event

Stanford Financial Falls Into Breach Of Contract After Missing Estimated Payment Of $750,000

The PGA Tour announced Thursday that Stanford Financial will no longer appear in the name of the event in Memphis, which will be called the St. Jude Classic in '09 after the charity that has been part of the tournament name since '85. Stanford had already paid its $7M sponsorship bill for this year but fell into breach of contract after it missed a recent payment of roughly $750,000 worth of media costs tied to its sponsorship. That gave the tour the legal right to remove any Stanford branding from the tournament. Stanford was under contract with the event through '16, and PGA Tour Exec VP/Communications & International Affairs Ty Votaw said the Tour may pursue legal avenues regarding the broken contract. “That is something that is under consideration right now,” he said. Stanford is currently being run by a receiver appointed by the U.S. Government, which has accused Chair Allen Stanford of fraud. The future of the Memphis event is uncertain given the lack of a title sponsor. FedEx, which title sponsored the event until becoming the umbrella sponsor of the PGA Tour’s points system, is not interested in spending another $7M to sponsor the tournament, said a source close to the event. The tour has discussed trying to sell the title sponsorship to a consortium of companies, said the source (Jon Show, SportsBusiness Journal). Tournament Dir Phil Cannon said, "The name change impacts us when it comes to signage and volunteer uniforms. The core mission to put on a quality PGA [Tour] event and raise money for St. Jude hasn't changed" (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 3/20). In Orlando, Pam Dowd notes the "biggest challenges with approximately 80 days remaining before the tournament is finding a company to buy up the space Stanford had reserved at the 18th green and at that week's pro-am" (ORLANDOSENTINEL.com, 3/20).