Dean & DeLuca Global President Bayani Lauraya, whose brand last week signed a six-year deal to become title sponsor of Ft. Worth's annual PGA Tour stop, considers the specialty-food retailer a "'perfect' fit in Texas and in professional golf," according to Jimmy Burch of the FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM. Lauraya yesterday "expressed hope" that golfers at Colonial Country Club "will be competing in the Dean & DeLuca Invitational for decades to come." He said that D&D execs "consider Dallas-Fort Worth a 'top three' market for their U.S. expansion plans and hope to open their first of multiple retail outlets in the Metroplex within a year." Burch notes the first step in the new partnership -- "removing the 'Colonial' name from the event for the first time in tournament history -- raised eyebrows." But Lauraya and PGA Tour execs said that the move "had more to do with shortening the official title than de-emphasizing the club." PGA Tour Senior VP/Business Development Rob Ohno said, "Both the club and the title sponsor felt it was in the best interest of the event to shorten the name." Lauraya added that the name was altered to "resonate better during telecasts." Tournament Chair Bobby Patton "confirmed sponsor-related talks with American Airlines and PlainsCapital Bank for the Colonial tournament," which generated $9.1M for local charities last year. He added that discussions with Dean & DeLuca "began roughly five months ago" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 2/23).
PLAYERS CLUB: The PGA Tour yesterday formally announced a four-year deal with Morgan Stanley in which the financial services firm will sponsor The Players at the Proud Partner level. Other sponsors at that tier are Optum and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PGA Tour). SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's John Lombardo cites sources as saying that Proud Partner sponsorships are "seven-figure annual agreements." The last time the PGA Tour "had three top-level partners of the Players" was in '10. Excel Sports Management represented Morgan Stanley in the deal (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/22 issue).
HIGH-MILEAGE PARTNERSHIP: In West Palm Beach, Jeff Ostrowski writes the PGA Tour Honda Classic has "enjoyed unusual loyalty from its title sponsor." Honda’s name has "been on the event for 35 years, although the automaker’s contract is up after this year’s event." Tournament Exec Dir Ken Kennerly said that he "expects Honda to renew." Kennerly would not disclose how much Honda pays, but World Golf Foundation CEO Steve Mona said that naming rights for a PGA Tour event "typically cost" $4-8M (PALM BEACH POST, 2/23).
