Cellular South Considering Title Sponsorship Of St. Jude Classic

PURSE DROP: Tournament officials said that this weekend's event will have a $5.6M purse, down from $6.1M last year. Sources said that Stanford Financial "already had paid an undisclosed amount toward its sponsorship obligation." PGA Tour Exec VP & Chief of Operations Rick George: "We are pleased that despite the absence of a title sponsor, the tournament will be staged." But GOLFWEEK's Alex Miceli reports the Buick Open from July 30-August 2 "could be another matter," as the fate of the tournament is "ensnared in General Motors' recent bankruptcy filing." Sources said that payment for Buick's title sponsorship is "due within 10 days of the start" of the event. If GM "does not get permission from the bankruptcy judge to make a payment believed to be about $5[M], the PGA Tour could go dark for that week." Golfer Kenny Perry: "I hope they don't just kick them out the door. The guys are going to have to understand that we're going to have to give in a little bit here and the purses are going to drop" (GOLFWEEK, 6/13 issue).

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