PGA Tour is about to lose its oldest partner
"When we started with the event name, our company was about to produce the Accord line for the first time in the US and wanted to become a brand for everyone. This goal was achieved. However, when moving to a new marketing strategy, We decided to stop sponsoring the tournament", Golfweek quoted the announcement from Honda Motor USA on November 17
Andrew George - incumbent CEO of Honda Classic - said the award is negotiating with many businesses to have a new name from 2024.
The Japanese car company is the longest and continuous sponsor of the PGA Tour when supporting the event since 1982.
Since 2007, Honda Classic has always been held at the PGA National Golf Club in Florida in conjunction with charity fundraising and has disbursed more than $60 million to beneficiaries, including the golf legend's children's health organization. Jack Nicklaus. The tournament in February this year alone raised 6.45 million USD from benefactors.
In the period 2015-2018, Honda Classic was a "magnet" for stars in the US golf arena, in which, the 2015 period attracted 15 golfers in the top 25 in the world. In terms of competition at that time, the tournament was only lost to a special group of events on the PGA Tour including the major quartet, the World Golf Championship, the FedEx Cup, The Players and Memorial playoffs, hosted by Nicklaus himself.
But in 2019, the Honda Classic began to lose its appeal when the PGA Tour packed its schedule to be able to finish the FedEx Cup before the national semi-pro football season and the NFL Premier League. This change puts the tournament right behind and a week away from the Genesis Invitational, hosted by Tiger Woods, with a higher prize pool and professional benefits.
And so the 2021 tournament has only five players in the top 50 in the world, this year there are 12 faces in the same segment in the original list, but up to four players in the top 8 do not play.
The PGA Tour has entered the 2022-3023 season from September. In the current calendar, the Honda Classic has struggled more than last season in gathering big names. The upcoming tournament will take place from February 23 to 26 with a reference prize fund of $8.4 million. But two weeks before that, there were two special tournaments – the Phoenix Open and the Genesis Invitational and two weeks after that there were two tournaments in the same category – the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players Championship. In these four tournaments, The Players fund is up to 25 million USD, the rest is equal to 20 million USD.
"It's unfortunate to lose such a loyal title sponsor, especially when we make them leave. They withdrew not because of business difficulties or lack of value but because we inserted the prize in the middle of the special group. They will probably get angry and say 'you guys did it wrong so we have to go'," a PGA Tour player commented on Golfweek.
