PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem yesterday "deflected suggestions" that moving the WGC event from Trump National Doral to Mexico City "was a way to distance the Tour" from Donald Trump, according to Jim McCabe of GOLFWEEK. Finchem said, "As we anticipated, some of the reaction revolves around the feeling that somehow this is a political exercise. It is not that in any way, shape or form. It is fundamentally a sponsorship issue." Finchem emphasized that since Cadillac "opted to end its sponsorship of the WGC at Doral, 'we were not able to secure sponsor for next year.'" He noted around the same time, an opportunity came about to work with Ricardo and Benjamin Salinas, the father-son team that "runs Grupo Salinas, a Mexico City-based conglomerate involved in retail, television, telecommunications and other businesses." McCabe noted this led to what is "expected to be called the WGC-Mexico Championship," which will be played at Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico City. Finchem said, "From a golf standpoint, we have no issues with Donald Trump." However, he noted the PGA Tour "is neutral" when it comes to politics (GOLFWEEK.com, 6/1). GOLF.com's Gary Van Sickle reported Grupo Salinas "may or may not have its name in the tournament title." Finchem said that what drew the Tour to this group was that the companies "aren’t interested in the branding aspect of the sponsorship but in building golf in Mexico." He noted that the Tour "'is keen' to return to Doral with another event, possibly a regular PGA Tour event, 'when the time is right.'" Van Sickle noted the WGC-Cadillac Championship had been held at Doral since '07, and Cadillac had been the sponsor since '11. The Tour has held an annual event at Doral since '62 (GOLF.com, 6/1).
MONEY, NOT POLITICS: In Miami, Neal & Hanks in a front-page piece report whatever concerns Cadillac might have had with comments Trump has made about immigration on the campaign trail, the automaker "wanted to renew at Trump’s course," but money "was the issue." Miami-based Williamson Cadillac Co. Chair & CEO Ed Williamson, who talked with Trump and top Cadillac execs during this year's tournament, said that Cadillac had "requested significantly less money to renew at the Trump Doral." He added that the original deal cost Cadillac about $14M annually, while the automaker "offered $6 million to renew at Doral." Williamson: "It's an extraordinary event, and we get a lot of exposure for it. But the whole event is not worth $14 million." Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said that he received a call last week from PGA Tour Deputy Commissioner Jay Monahan "asking for last-minute help to bridge a gap between what Cadillac was willing to pay and what was waiting for the tournament in Mexico." But Gimenez said that he "took Monahan’s call as basically a sign that the PGA's time in Doral was over" (MIAMI HERALD, 6/2). Finchem yesterday indicated that Trump's high-profile presence "was a sponsorship deterrent, both for the event at Doral and for the Tour's apparent efforts to bring a tournament to Trump National Bedminster in New Jersey." Finchem: "Donald Trump is a brand -- a big brand. And when you're asking a company to invest millions of dollars in branding a tournament, and they're going to share that brand with the host, it's a difficult conversation. It's just a struggle to get a customer to spend those kinds of dollars and share the billing" (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 6/1).
TRUMP FACTOR: In Miami, Greg Cote wrote the PGA Tour officially is leaving Doral because it "could not find a title sponsor" to replace Cadillac, but that "begs two questions." Was the difficulty in finding a new sponsor "rooted in the fact corporations were wary of associating with a Trump course," and why would Trump himself "not swoop in as sponsor to keep the event at the resort he owns?" It seems the Tour "used the title sponsor issue as a break point to distance itself from Trump." Cote: "It stretches credulity to believe the more toxic element of Trump’s reputation did not play a role in South Florida and Doral losing its grip on 55 years of tradition" (MIAMIHERALD.com, 6/1). In Ft. Lauderdale, Dave Hyde writes even in the "hardest of economic times in recent years, the PGA Tour didn't lose events because of lost corporate sponsors." Hyde: "But Doral? The tournament with the fourth-longest tenure at its locale? It couldn't find a sponsor?" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 6/2). GOLFCHANNEL.com's Rex Hoggard wrote the WGC's move is "about more than losing a half-century-old Tour staple, or the challenges of prying sponsorship dollars from corporate America." This is about "creating distance, either by design or circumstance, between an outspoken and often polarizing candidate and an organization that has so adeptly played both sides of the fence for decades" (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 6/1).
FAREWELL TO A LONG-TIME HOME: In West Palm Beach, Dave George writes it is a "crying shame to see Doral go out like this," as only Colonial Country Club in Ft. Worth "has been a continuous PGA Tour stop for longer." The Doral event "was a South Florida original," predating all of the area's pro sports teams and "just about every other major sports attractions down here outside of horse racing" (PALM BEACH POST, 6/2). Golf Channel's Geoff Shackelford said, "I just can’t fathom that a course that has hosted the tour for 54 years in a market that is so important to the game and the growth of the PGA Tour in the early years, Miami, is being treated this way. ... I understand Mr. Trump certainly rubs some people the wrong way, but you have to put some of these personal feelings aside. Just reading the commissioner’s transcript again this morning, I just don’t think he was able to do that" ("Morning Drive," Golf Channel, 6/2).
TIME TO GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD? Golf Channel's Shackelford wondered if the WGC's concept is "flawed," as Cadillac was "wanting to continue to be involved ... but they just didn’t want to be involved with the price." He said, "The price is limiting who can sponsor a WGC to a very small group of companies. Essentially I think what yesterday revealed is they’ve run out of blue-chip American companies willing to pay for it, so they are going to go internationally" ("Morning Drive," Golf Channel, 6/2).
OPPORTUNITY FOR MEXICO: ESPN's John Sutcliffe noted the Tour had been "in negotiations for several months" to move the WGC event to Mexico, and this is "as good as it gets" for Mexican sports fans. The tournament is going to the "most private, best golf course in Mexico City," and it marks an opportunity for the country to "show a different Mexico through tourism" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 6/1). Golf Channel's Matt Ginella notes the money "behind this effort to bring the Tour to Mexico really is yet again utilizing golf to showcase their country, to promote tourism to the country." It is a "good thing for golf, and I think it’s a good thing for Mexico.” Golf Channel’s Cara Robinson agreed that it is good that the Tour is "using golf to really promote another destination" ("Morning Drive," Golf Channel, 6/2).
