Sponsors and the Decline of Tournament Heritage

[The Turlock Kid]

First of all, read this article: http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/colum...bob&id;=2709811

Does this strike anyone as stupid? I know sponsors front the money (see my rants and counter-rants under the Thread "John Daly and Sponsor's Exemptions") so they can do what they want, but to keep changing the name of the tourneys, I think, is lame.

I think sponsors changing tourney names destroys tournament heritage. The frontpiece on ESPN was all about how Immelman won the "Last Western Open". That's a shame. To be sure, it has also had other names attached to it, but it was still called The ______ Western Open. You can read about that tourney as far back as 1899! Now it's going to be called "the BMW", not the "Western" (see http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...6/ai_n16503737 ) Travesty? And how!

I can understand giving the sponsors control of everything in the tourney, from tote bags to umbrellas, from all the ad slots to flashy score cards or whatever - just don't change the name of the tournament! Reading golf books of the past makes me confused with all of those old tournaments that don't exist anymore. Ah, but they do, under some new corporate name! It reminds me of the BCS debauchery that has gone on. (The "Rose Bowl presented by Citi", the "Tostitos BCS Championship", the "FedEx Orange Bowl"?? This just makes me hate those companies more since they're glory-*****s: splashing their names on everything they get their hands on. Kind of reminds me of graffiti on bathroom walls...) Who knows, maybe even the sport itself will be bought out by a sponsor so our kids can say, "Let's go play a round of 'Captial One Golf' (tm)!" And then the next year they'll be playing 'FedEx Golf' (tm), then 'Tostitos Golf' (tm). Sound silly? So does changing existing tourney names.

I'm all for naming the tourney after the course (i.e. the Buick becomes the "Torrey Pines Invitational"). The sponsors still make names for themselves on every sign and ad, as well as the old boys who present the trophy plugging their spot. But golf is more than sponsor money - it's a heritage.

With such a rich past, I think golf tournament names should remain the same. What other sport can boast such a rich past?? Add more if you want, but keep the heritage of golf alive. I believe a lot of the reason the Majors conjure up such fond memories of the past is because they are constant, and the names and places can be remembered as being connected to them.

[Norm66]

I can tell you that it surely doesn't make it any easier for someone to begin watching golf. I'm constantly confused about which event they're talking about and now with the names changing it's even worse. Will golf someday be like NASCAR?

[BASHERBAKER69]

Hi Turlock Kid

i agree

xmas must be boring in your house?

yes the race to sponsor golf tournaments has become a bit ridiculous-but we can blame Tiger Woods for that, he's made the game so popular that there's a queue now to host/sponsor golf events.

it's all part of the the cancer that is globalisation and capitalism that we have in our world unfortunately-traditions get trampled on in the pursuit of monetary gain.

BB69