Wegmans, LPGA Agree To Three-Year Deal For Rochester Event

Wegmans LPGA Extended For Three Years, Will Maintain $2M Purse

The LPGA announced during a players’ meeting last night in Portland, Oregon, that the tour has extended the Wegmans LPGA for an additional three years, plus a series of one-year options. The Rochester, New York, event, which was unsigned for '10, will maintain its $2M purse. The addition of Wegmans brings the LPGA to 15 events that have sanctioning contracts for '10. Sources said that total should stretch to 17 in the coming weeks as extensions are completed for the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic in Ohio and the P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship (Jon Show, SportsBusiness Journal). In Rochester, Jeff DiVeronica notes negotiations on an extension for the Wegmans event began during this year’s tournament in June, but “stalled after a meeting on June 23 with then-LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens.” Wegmans LPGA co-Chair Jerry Stahl: “I was very concerned because we didn’t have an agreement and it didn’t seem like the LPGA was interested in hearing about our concerns about the economy.” Wegmans Food Markets VP/Special Projects Bill Strassburg said the LPGA’s change in leadership -- interim Commissioner Marty Evans replaced Bivens in July -- was “very important” in getting a new contract (Rochester DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE, 8/27).