Web.com, an online marketing and web design service, will immediately replace Nationwide as the umbrella sponsor of the PGA Tour’s developmental tour, industry sources said. The PGA Tour has scheduled an announcement for this morning in Bethesda, Md., where this week’s AT&T National is being played at Congressional. Web.com, based in Jacksonville, Fla., just 20 miles from the PGA Tour’s Ponte Vedra headquarters, will assume sponsorship of the developmental tour today, meaning this week’s event in Newburgh, Ind., will be the first on the Web.com Tour.
Nationwide had been the umbrella sponsor since '02, but the insurance company told the tour late in '10 that it would end its sponsorship when the contract ran out at the end of the '12 season, or earlier if the PGA Tour found a replacement. Web.com, which represents new money coming into the sport in a nontraditional category, was willing to take over the sponsorship immediately. Industry sources say the company’s spend will range from $10M-$13M per year over the term of the contract. CAA Sports’ golf division is representing Web.com on the deal.
