Navistar, Robert Trent Jones Golf Extend Deals With LPGA Event

By Jon Show, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

The LPGA this afternoon will announce that Navistar and Robert Trent Jones Golf (RTJG) have agreed to extensions of their sponsorship and ownership of the Navistar LPGA Classic, respectively. Terms were not available, but comparable events cost approximately $2M annually in sponsorship and media commitments. The tournament, one of two LPGA events owned by RTJG, will continue to be played in Alabama in the fall with coverage on Golf Channel. The tourney recently reduced its purse for this year’s event from $1.5M to $1.3M, and is expected to award comparable prize money in the future. RTJG’s other event, the Bell Micro Classic in Alabama, was canceled this year and moved to a spring date in '10. The extension brings to 18 the number of confirmed events on the LPGA’s schedule next year. LPGA officials expect to have around 25 events in '10, down from 27 this year and 34 in '08. The LPGA has added new events for '10 in California and Mexico, and industry sources said the tour is also close to adding a new event in Chicago that would also start next year.