LPGA Keeps a Sponsor; PGA Tour Loses One

Good news and bad news on the sponsorship front (which is really a how-the-lousy-economy-is-affecting-pro-golf front). The LPGA announced today that it has re-signed a sponsor for another two years, but that news comes a day after the PGA Tour announced the departure one of its sponsors.

The PGA Tour's Verizon Heritage will be minus Verizon going forward. The phone company decided not to renew its contract as title sponsor of the Hilton Head, S.C., tournament. But that contract doesn't expire until after the 2010 event, giving the PGA Tour a full year to search for a new title sponsor. And that shouldn't be a problem.

MCI is the sponsor with the longest association with the Heritage, which was founded in 1970. Perhaps the PGA Tour should search outside the telecommunications industry this time.

The LPGA Tour, meanwhile, announced today that State Farm has extended its sponsorship of the State Farm Classic through 2011, adding two years to its sponsorship deal. And the tournament's purse of $1.7 million remains intact, unlike a couple other LPGA events whose sponsors recently re-signed while also announcing a reduction in prize money.

That announcement followed by a day the news that the Navistar LPGA Classic will return in 2010. That makes 19 tournaments confirmed for the LPGA in 2010, with more announcements expected in the coming weeks.