The PGA Tour event at Colonial Country Club is "back and will go off as scheduled" in '18 after securing "one-year contributing agreements" with American Airlines, XTO Energy and BNSF Railway for approximately $2M each, according to sources cited by Mac Engel of the Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM. Sources said that Ft. Worth-based Bell Helicopter is "also a possibility" as a sponsor, but there is a "better chance that AT&T will join." Sources said that the solution for this year at Colonial is a "one-year fix, and not a viable long-term alternative." The Tour has been "working with Colonial on finding potential sponsors" for '19. Approximately $11.5M is "required to run the tournament." Whatever the club "cannot raise from outside sources, it will make up the difference." Organizers also are "unsure" if Dean & DeLuca will "remain in any capacity" as a sponsor. The restaurant chain last fall backed out of its six-year commitment to title sponsor the event. Both Colonial and the Tour would "prefer the company remains on in some capacity, if possible." There is "no precedent with the PGA Tour for what D&D did, so what the Tour is doing is unchartered area." D&D’s default date is "believed to be this month, and until that day comes the club can’t officially announce anything in regard to the changes" for '18 (Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM, 1/14).
