Thursday, August 16, 2007
Thoughts on the Wyndham
"Most top players will have qualified for the four-tournament series and will sit out the Greensboro stop to get rest before playing the next four weeks in a big money shootout."
I wrote over a year and a half ago that the (at that point still to be renamed) Wyndham Championship would struggle to attract big names to Greensboro. It was completely predictable, so I don't understand all the hand-wringing now occurring.
I still think moving from October to August was a great coup by our tournament, despite the challenges of producing a manicured course and good field this time of year. Securing our new date was probably the biggest single surprise in the new PGA TOUR schedule, because most observers had left our tournament for dead months before.
This year's tournament is in the first of a four year deal with the PGA TOUR schedule and primary sponsor Wyndham, so it is critical the tournament pick up momentum over the next two years. If it does, we will be able to lobby for a spring date that will attract better golfers and make our host course easier to maintain. If we don't, the tournament might lose its current spot on the schedule and go away forever.
My money is on tournament foundation chair Bobby Long and tournament director Mark Brazil to make the right moves to improve the tournament and its standing on TOUR. They are off to a good start this year with lots of fan friendly events, less expensive food and beverage concessions, and improved player hospitality.
I wrote over a year and a half ago that the (at that point still to be renamed) Wyndham Championship would struggle to attract big names to Greensboro. It was completely predictable, so I don't understand all the hand-wringing now occurring.
I still think moving from October to August was a great coup by our tournament, despite the challenges of producing a manicured course and good field this time of year. Securing our new date was probably the biggest single surprise in the new PGA TOUR schedule, because most observers had left our tournament for dead months before.
This year's tournament is in the first of a four year deal with the PGA TOUR schedule and primary sponsor Wyndham, so it is critical the tournament pick up momentum over the next two years. If it does, we will be able to lobby for a spring date that will attract better golfers and make our host course easier to maintain. If we don't, the tournament might lose its current spot on the schedule and go away forever.
My money is on tournament foundation chair Bobby Long and tournament director Mark Brazil to make the right moves to improve the tournament and its standing on TOUR. They are off to a good start this year with lots of fan friendly events, less expensive food and beverage concessions, and improved player hospitality.
