Samsung Not Returning As Title Sponsor Of LPGA Event

By Jon Show, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

Samsung Drops Title Sponsorship Of LPGA Event At Torrey Pines

Samsung will not return in '10 as title sponsor of the LPGA Samsung World Championship, a limited field event owned and operated by IMG since '80. The tournament, held September 17-20 at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, had been sponsored by Samsung since '95.Sources said IMG will begin actively seeking new potential title sponsors. IMG does not have a contract with the LPGA to run the event in '10. The LPGA, which has contractual or verbal agreements with 18 tournaments for next year's schedule, is expecting in the neighborhood of 25 events in '10, down from the 31 that were originally planned for this season and 34 in '08. Three tournaments on the '09 schedule have formally announced they will not return next season: the SBS Open in Hawaii, the Corning Classic in New York, and the Michelob Ultra Classic in Virginia.