Chrysler, Florida Children’s Hospital and Osceola County have signed on as founding sponsors for this week’s inaugural LPGA Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open in Orlando.
Tournament officials declined to say how much each was paying for the partnership, but they confirmed that the amounts were in the mid-six-figure range. Chrysler and Osceola County have signed multiyear deals, while Florida Children’s Hospital’s deal is for one year.
For Chrysler, a longtime PGA Tour sponsor, it marks the automaker’s first involvement with the women’s tour in nearly a decade. It also could be a change in direction for Chrysler’s golf spending.
The automotive maker is scaling back its involvement on the PGA Tour beginning in 2007, having opted not to extend beyond this season its title sponsorship of tour stops in Greensboro, N.C. (halting an 11-year run), Tucson, Ariz., and the Tampa Bay area (four years each). Chrysler’s title sponsorship of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in Palm Desert, Calif., runs through 2010.
David Rooney, director of Chrysler brand marketing, said the company intends to remain active in golf despite the cutbacks and that its involvement with an LPGA event is a way of doing so while also hitting a different market.
“The LPGA happens to have some great energy right now,” Rooney said. “They’re on a growth track both in terms of interest from a gallery standpoint and in terms of television ratings. … People seem to have discovered the LPGA, and it’s a good chance for us to expand our existing golf.”
Founding sponsorship packages include multiple advertising spots on The Golf Channel and CBS during the tournament; tournament hospitality; branding in the local market with event promotions; on-course signage; a presence on the tournament Web site; and the opportunity to execute consumer promotions in the local market with the event.
With title sponsorship from The Ginn Co., the tournament is scheduled for Thursday through Sunday. A total purse of $2.5 million, the third-highest on the LPGA Tour, has produced a 139-woman field that includes the top 30 players in the world. It’s scheduled to receive seven hours of live television coverage, with The Golf Channel airing the first two rounds and CBS broadcasting weekend play.
