Nationwide To End Golf Tour Deal, Title Sponsor Memorial

By Michael Smith, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

Nationwide Insurance announced Friday that it will be the presenting sponsor of Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament beginning next year, but the insurance carrier will no longer be the title sponsor of the PGA Tour's developmental tour after its contract runs out in '12. Nationwide will work with the Tour to find a replacement, meaning the contract between the Tour and Nationwide could end before '12 if there's a new title partner on board. Nationwide's sponsorship of the Memorial will run for six years and make the Columbus, Ohio, insurance carrier the first local company to sponsor the Dublin, Ohio-based Memorial in the tournament's 35-year history.