PGA Tour suffers another huge setback immediately after Jon Rahm’s LIV Golf move
Wells Fargo have sponsored the PGA Tour event in Charlotte, North Carolina since its inception in 2003, but the bank has decided to end its involvement after 16 years
The PGA Visit has been managed a monetary blow following Jon Rahm ‘s hair-raising change to LIV Golf after Wells Fargo’s choice to end its well established sponsorship of the visit’s yearly occasion in North Carolina.
On Thursday, Rahm turned into the furthest down the line star to escape from the PGA Visit for LIV Golf, the adversary visit supported by Saudi Arabia’s Public Venture Asset. The Spanish golf player concurred an arrangement that could be worth up to an incredible £450 million, checking maybe the greatest win for the circuit since it burst onto the scene as a contender to the PGA Visit.
After weeks of whispers, rumours about Rahm’s impending move grew when his name was missing from entries to January’s Amex PGA Tour event. As defending champion, it’s usually expected that Rahm would participate at Torrey Pines, but the two-time major champion decided to seek greener pastures.
Adding to the drama, Wells Fargo announced on Friday that it will stop sponsoring the PGA Tour event in Charlotte next year. Wells Fargo and Co. and its predecessor, Charlotte-based Wachovia Corp., have been the title sponsor of the tournament since it started in 2003, with the current contract set to finish after the 2024 event to be held May 6-12 at Quail Hollow Club – the venue of the 2025 PGA Championship.
This comes as another setback for PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan. Wells Fargo reportedly splashed out around £15 million for the event, but the cost for a title sponsor is likely to rocket to over £25 million.
Last year, the PGA Tour marked the Wells Fargo Championship as one of its standout events, doubling the prize money to £20 million to keep players from being lured by the inflated prize winnings at LIV Golf. The 2024 edition of the event will be a standout event once more, and will also feature a smaller group of players with no cut.
“Wells Fargo is not renewing the Wells Fargo Championship as a Signature Event in 2025 and beyond,” the bank said in a statement. “To drive efficiency and support our business long term, we regularly review and adjust our overall sponsorship strategy.”
“We are incredibly proud of the 20-plus year history of the championship. The tournament has generated significant local impact and delighted golf fans in Charlotte and across the country. Since 2003, the Wells Fargo Championship has generated more than $30 million in support of numerous charitable foundations.”
The competition started off in 2003 and immediately turned into an outline for different competitions as it drew high recognition from stars like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Rory McIlroy. In any case, the bank is done hoping to support the occasion in the midst of PGA Visit unrest.
A few reasons purportedly prompted the choice to end the sponsorship, including vulnerability over the PGA Visit’s drawn out monetary construction and the longing to spread sports sponsorship spending in the Charlotte district across a few occasions as opposed to a solitary competition. Kendall Back street, administrator of Champions for Instruction, the not-for-profit that claims the competition, communicated frustration at the circumstance.
Rear entryway demanded the fate of expert golf lies with the loved Quail Empty, adding: “The No. 1 thing you must have a golf competition is a fairway.”
