The WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship "will be without a sponsor after next month's event and might be on the move," according to Alex Miceli of GOLFWEEK. Accenture has "sponsored the event since its 1999 inception," but has told the PGA Tour that the Feb. 19-23 event at the Ritz Carlton Golf Club at Dove Mountain in Marana, Ariz., "will be its last." Sources said that the future of the tournament, which "ends the West Coast swing, could include a later date and move from the desert." But it "all depends on the sponsor" (GOLFWEEK, 1/10 issue). SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Michael Smith notes the AT&T National, BMW Championship and the match play event "each have title sponsorships that run out" in '14. The BMW is a FedExCup playoff event, which "come with a price tag more expensive than the standard tour events." Playoff and WGC events "typically go" for $9-11M annually, and a renewal could cost anywhere from $12-15M per year. The match play event has been "troubled by unpredictable weather, including snow." That has "led to reports that the tournament could move to a different site, or perhaps even go overseas, which it could justify as a WGC event" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 1/6 issue).
