Picture Perfect: Kodak Offering $1M Prize During '09 PGA Tour
By Jon Show, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal
Kodak is dangling a $1M, winner-take-all prize to the pro golfer who posts the lowest score under par on 18 predetermined holes across the year-long PGA Tour schedule. The Kodak Challenge starts in ’09 and will run through the Fall Series of events. The contest will likely span around 30 holes on the PGA Tour schedule, but golfers must play at least 18 to be eligible. Kodak is undecided on what will happen if the contest is tied at the end of the season, but one option could be an 18-hole playoff on the Monday after the final event. All of the holes will be selected by an advisory board consisting of CBS’ David Feherty, golf photographer Jules Alexander, CBS Coordinating Producer Lance Barrow, PGA Tour Senior VP/Tournament Administration Andy Pazder and course designer Rees Jones, whose grandfather once caddied for Kodak Founder George Eastman. Despite the lack of NBC involvement, Kodak Chief Business Development Officer Jeff Hayzlett said tournaments on that network are also under consideration. Kodak will tease the contest in print and TV ads, and fans can track the standings on the PGA Tour’s Web site and at kodakchallenge.com. Kodak works with Octagon on sports marketing and signed a six-year deal with the PGA Tour late last year. Hayzlett said the company did not secure insurance to cover the potential $1M payout.
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