The World Golf Village "began its grand celebration"
Saturday with a party for development partners, corporate
sponsors, members of the Hall of Fame and their guests,
according to Garry Smits of the FLORIDA TIMES-UNION. A day
of golf at the Golf Village's new course was followed by
"dedication ceremonies, the lighting of the tower, live
music and fireworks." The events continued yesterday,
highlighted by a Smokey Robinson concert, and today, Johnny
Miller and Nick Faldo will be inducted as the newest members
of the World Golf Hall of Fame (TIMES-UNION, 5/16). On "Pro
Golf Weekly," CNN/SI's Jaime Diaz: "Golf has long needed a
unified Hall of Fame, and as the sport continues to gain
unprecedented popularity, its own version of Cooperstown
couldn't have come at a better time" (CNN, 5/17).
WEEKEND NOTES: In Jacksonville, Smits & Daniels wrote
that Shell and IBM are the major sponsors of the Village,
and both companies have a "subtle presence throughout the
Hall of Fame." World Golf Foundation Dir of Marketing &
Corporate Sponsorships Mark Berman: "It was a prerequisite
to secure companies that did not want to have a huge
presence at the Village" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 5/17)....In
other news, the PGA of America is expected to make a
donation of "at least" $1M to First Tee, a World Golf
Village Foundation program (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 5/17).
