Shell is no longer the tournament's title sponsor after having its named tied to the event since '91 GETTY IMAGES
Houston Golf Association President & CEO Steve Timms said that the organization "planned ahead financially to get by without a title sponsor" for this year's PGA Tour Houston Open, which begins next week, as Shell will not sponsor the event for the first time since '91, according to Dale Robertson of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. Instead of getting together a short-term partnership of a few sponsors to fill in, Timms said that the "decision was made" to borrow from within, "hoping to pay itself back with future tournament revenues." While the tournament "can't survive indefinitely without a major corporate partner, the HGA, with its debt-free balance sheet, found itself reasonably well-positioned for Shell's departure" as title sponsor. The Houston tournament is now "one of three" on the current PGA Tour schedule "seeking a sponsor, so there's seemingly stiff competition nationally, too." But Timms calls his counterparts in Ft. Worth and DC "'colleagues,' not enemy combatants." Timms: "We remain confident we'll find a replacement. Conversations are ongoing. But this is big decision for a company to make" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 3/22).
