Paint brand Valspar yesterday announced that it has "extended its title sponsorship" of the PGA Tour event at Innisbrook Golf Resort through '20, according to Rodney Page of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. The original four-year agreement, said to be in the $7M per year range, was "set to expire" after next year's event. The extension "provides some security for a tournament that has been in limbo more than once." This year's edition of the Valspar Championship began this morning, and PGA Tour Deputy Commissioner Jay Monahan said that there are "no plans" to move it from its March date (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 3/10). Valspar Chair & CEO Gary Hendrickson said, "The return that we're getting on the advertising, which is measurable, the return that we're getting through new customer relationships and enabling expanded customer relationships ... you do that, and this has been a very positive return for Valspar shareholders." As part of the deal, Valspar also will "remain an official marketing partner with the tour." The company this year is sponsoring the "Caddie Hat Program," in which caddies "who wear the Valspar logo on their caps get a bonus depending on how their player performs" (AP, 3/9).
