Madison-based Exact Sciences yesterday announced a three-year agreement to become the title sponsor for the PGA Tour Champions event in Tucson, which will be called the Cologuard Classic to highlight company’s "non-invasive, at-home colon cancer screening test," according to Dennis Punzel of the WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL. Golfer Jerry Kelly will "serve as ambassador" for the event and the cause. Exact Sciences COO Maneesh Arora said that a "confluence of factors convinced the company that sponsoring a tournament would be the perfect step." Punzel notes Cologuard screening is "targeted for people age 50 and up, which happens to be the age group of the golfers on the Champions Tour." The Champions Tour also "agreed to move the tournament up a couple weeks -- next year’s event will be the week of February 26-March 4 -- to coincide with the start of March Colon Cancer Awareness Month." Kelly "partnered with Exact Sciences when he joined the Champions Tour this year and has embraced his role as company ambassador" (WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL, 11/8). In Tucson, Greg Hansen reports the PGA Tour was "active" in connecting Cologuard and Conquistadores, the group that organizes the Tucson event. The Tour spent "almost three years searching for a sponsor for a Tucson event," subsidizing Conquistadores so they could pay $1.7M in prize money and "still award hundreds of thousands of dollars to charities." Conquistadores President Jose Rincon said, "We’re not just crossing off the box with a title sponsor. We’re crossing the right box. Exact Sciences has a partnership with the Mayo Clinic. The credibility of their science and product tells me we’re getting on the right bus" (ARIZONA DAILY STAR, 11/8).
CALLING SECURITY: Security screening provider Rapiscan Systems will serve as title sponsor for the PGA Tour Champions event in Biloxi, Miss. The Rapiscan Systems Classic will be held in March, with a three-year agreement in place through the '20 season. Bruno Event Team will manage the event (PGA Tour).
