Golf: More sponsorship headaches for NZPGA

The status of a major New Zealand tournament is in doubt after the withdrawal of its principal financial backer.

ING, a financial services provider, has ended its two-year association with the New Zealand PGA Championship, which was revived four years ago after a 17-year absence from the domestic calendar.

New Zealand Professional Golfers' Association chief executive Garth Stirrat is adamant the championship will still be held but he cannot give a guarantee about its future.

The championship has been co-sanctioned by the Australasian PGA Tour and the PGA Tour's secondary Nationwide Tour in the United States for the past three years.

Australasian PGA Tour chief executive Ben Sellenger said both tours had locked in the championship for next year, but its status beyond that had yet to be negotiated.

ING's contribution to the staging of this year's event in Christchurch in February, which carried a purse of US$600,000 ($922,000), is thought to have been about $350,000.

That does not mean the NZPGA will require a future naming rights sponsor to provide such support.

Stirrat said the championship's future might well see it included on the second tier Australasian circuit, the Von Nida Tour, which carried minimum prizemoney of A$110,000 ($133,140).

"Regardless of what happens, the PGA Championship will continue to be an event on our annual calendar. At what level that event is has yet to be determined."

Stirrat said a decision needed to be made by the end of August, and the search for a replacement for ING had begun.

"One possible option is that we take it back to a Von Nida event, but it will continue to ensure we are providing a pathway [for players]."

Stirrat said that was not an ideal solution.

"We want to continue the event as a Nationwide Tour event carrying prizemoney of US$600,000, but it can only be that if we can fund it to that level."

The NZPGA's plight mirrors that of New Zealand Golf, which is continuing a search for a principal sponsor for November's New Zealand Open.

The Open is co-sanctioned with the European Tour and carries prizemoney of $1.5 million.

Stirrat said ING's withdrawal left him feeling uneasy.

"I am always uneasy about the future of tournament golf in New Zealand regardless of whether you have your sponsorship shored up or not," he said. "Sponsorship for major golf tournaments in New Zealand is not something we're good at packaging up.

"A five-day exposure doesn't cut it in the current marketplace when you are competing with sports that have year-round coverage."

- NZPA