Finchem On Washington

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BoozAllen05.gifBoy, after reading the recent stuff from Carolyn Bivens, Tim Finchem's press conferences are so boring!

Still, it was a combative teleconference with the Washington scribblers on demise of the Booze Allen and the reconstruction of TPC Avenel:

With respect to how we got to the scheduling decision, as I indicated at the end of our television negotiations, when we released our schedule earlier in the year, we felt like it was important to give as many weeks to possible consistent dates. We could have gone to a continuation of a situation where some years we play earlier in the summer in Washington, like we played last year, and other years we could play later in the summer. The feeling was that we would continue to have an inconsistent execution of our product, probably the fallout of that being a lack of continuity with the title sponsor, which has certainly been the case there since Kemper left. We just didn't want to go down that road. We wanted to try something we felt like had a better chance of continual year in, year out success.

I've always said, that if you can't have consistent product execution, it's just not worth it. 

Q. Big picture question. How did the tournament in DC, one of the biggest markets in the nation, nation's capital, wind up on the outside looking in as far as the good dates go, and some tournaments in smaller markets, like the 84 Lumber in Greensboro, not nearly as well supported by the public as this one, how did they end up with the good dates and this tournament was on the out?

COMMISSIONER FINCHEM: First of all, it's kind of hard to answer that question in the way you phrase it because you're assuming certain things about a "good date." We have dates on our schedule from the first week in January right through now the fall series to November. What's a good date for one market is not a good date for another market. What's a good date for a particular sponsor is not a good date for another sponsor in the same market. There are a lot of variables in terms of what goes into a date.

I think that the reaction to the date change in Washington has really been focused on one thing, and that is being in the FedEx Cup season, early summer, is preferable to anything else. I certainly wouldn't argue the point that being in the FedEx Cup season is an advantage. But I think the reaction perhaps has been a little bit overdone in terms of the negativity of the fall, as I said earlier.

The bottom line is that we were not comfortable, and frankly neither was Booz Allen, in continuing a date structure that has historically led to an event that would not be the kind of event on a number of levels that we'd like to see over the long term in the nation's capital. We wanted an opportunity to do something better. We thought consistent dates was part of that, but there are other factors.

This is a little weird....

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you very much for your time today, Commissioner.

COMMISSIONER FINCHEM: Thank you, Todd.

Ladies and Gentlemen, if you need additional information, we're available to you. I know a couple of you have called in the last couple of weeks. I've deferred those conversations until I had an opportunity to make comments generally today. In the aftermath of this week's tournament, I'd be happy to make myself available or other people on our team. We'll have more to say about Avenel here very shortly after the public hearing.

In the meantime, I would encourage you to cover this week's tournament. We have a lot of great players there, good golf course, we're looking forward to a good competition. Thank you.

I would encourage you to cover this week's tournament? What else would they cover? 

"We've been promised some good dates thanks to our friends at FedEx"

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Phil Stukenborg in the Memphis Commercial-Appeal (beat the Light and Shopper) writes about the St. Jude event and its excitement over a new June date in the 07 FedEx Cup schedule. Tournament director Phil Cannon is also excited for these reasons:

--The tournament, which will be known in 2007 as the Stanford St. Jude Championship, will be played June 7-10, or in the enviable spot one week before the U.S. Open.

--The FedEx Cup points competition, similar to the Nextel Cup on the NASCAR Circuit, is expected to increase player participation.

--And several more weeks to grow the rough should have the course in ideal condition.
That rough harvesting is tricky business!

Here's the line that will irk some tournament directors:
''There are about three primo dates on the PGA Tour in the summertime and we are going to have one of them next year,'' Cannon said. ''It hasn't been finalized yet, but the Tour has said we'll like our 2008 through 2012 dates just as much. We've been promised some good dates thanks to our friends at FedEx.''

And Cannon is excited about the FedEx Cup...

''The whole FedEx Cup points competition is going to change the structure of our sport tremendously,'' Cannon said. ''It's going to reward players for their performances and participation on a year-long basis, much like you see in NASCAR with the Nextel Cup. Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt are in every race all year long. Thirty-eight races.

''I don't think you'll see pro golfers in 95 percent of their events, but I think you'll see them increase their starts and vary their schedules. From talking to players and agents, they all say this is going to revolutionize scheduling.''

"Isn't there a number between one and 15?"

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230136-275498-thumbnail.jpgFred Couples, talking to Bob Verdi in this week's Golf World:

"I don't understand the new TV deal. We signed for 15 years with The Golf Channel? Isn't there a number between one and 15? Did the NBA sign for 15 years with TNT? How'd we lose ESPN? I also don't get that. What if ESPN decides in three years they want golf again? What does the PGA Tour tell them? Sorry, we're with The Golf Channel until 2021?"

Check out the full column for his thoughts on possibly serving as Ryder Cup captain, and other first rate curmudgeonry. 

More On 84

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Thanks to Big K for the heads up on this Teresa Lindeman story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that sheds  a little more light on the 84 Lumber Classic's surprising demise.

But pretty soon, it became clear the higher costs of such things as moving from ESPN to CBS would bump the overall price tag up to the point where 84 Lumber expected to pay $100 million over the six-year contract.

That's money that could be used to build a lot of new stores plus help pay for acquisition of companies that can fill in services not offered by 84 Lumber now.

Ms. Hardy Magerko couldn't justify putting so much money and staff time into a golf tournament, especially since her customers are not the broad consumer audience that would be attracted to a CBS broadcast.

She broke the news to her father. "I didn't ask him. I basically told him," she said, knowing that he would hate losing the event. And he did, though she said he agreed with her assessment of the financial bottom line.

Ms. Hardy Magerko has mixed emotions about how things worked out with the PGA. She has offered to host the fall tournament another year if the organization can't find a replacement in time.

She believes the golf organization might have helped 84 Lumber more in making its numbers work. She said the PGA was unwilling to sign a deal shorter than six years or to allow the company to bring in a presenting sponsor to help share the expense, though she has heard it has been more accommodating for the group that stepped up to take the spot.

For now, 84 Lumber is prepared to put on its final PGA tournament in the fall and then move on. Ms. Hardy Magerko won't miss the constant meetings required to plan the annual golf event. That's time she can spend on the road meeting with her new store managers.

I Don't Know About You...

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...but after reading this Gerry Dulac story on the 84 Lumber Classic's demise, I could take a big rain check on meeting  Joe Hardy's daughter:

"My dad, he can spend money," said Maggie Hardy Magerko, Joe's daughter and president/owner of 84 Lumber Co.

It was that spending, apparently, that helped lead to the demise of the tournament, which will be discontinued after this year as part of a growth plan by 84 Lumber to expand the nation's largest privately owned lumber and building supply retailer into a $10 billion company.

And that decision was made by Hardy Magerko, not her father, whom she says did not want to cancel the tournament.

"It was my decision," said Hardy Magerko. "I'm 40 and my dad is 83. We don't always agree on things. He has different motivation. I want to pass 84 Lumber to my sons. He likes legacies.

"That's our biggest dilemma. He spends too much money. I want to make money."

The 84 Lumber Classic agreed to a six-year sponsorship extension with the PGA Tour that would allow the tournament to move to June, beginning in 2007. Four months later, Hardy Magerko changed her mind because she said the cost of running the tournament for the next six years would have been $100 million.

Among the reasons: Hardy Magerko said her company will be spending "lots of money" to aggressively purchase smaller lumber and framing companies to eliminate competition.

So good to know the money is going to such a worthy cause. What a legacy!

D.C. Ultimatum

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Leonard Shapiro has the latest on the Washington area event status...
The PGA Tour has set a May 15 deadline for organizers of Washington's tour event to come up with a title sponsor or face elimination from the schedule starting in 2007.

A month after Booz Allen, the title sponsor since 2004, decided not to renew its three-year sponsorship agreement, a replacement has not been found to commit the necessary funds -- about $4 million per year. The Tour's decision to move the event, which has been played in Washington since 1980, to the fall portion of the schedule beginning in 2007 was a factor in Booz Allen's decision to scale back its commitment.

Hartford: They Were The First Port 'O Call!

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Commissioner Tim Finchem drops a juicy nautical metaphor in this Bruce Berlet story on how Hartford landed back on the 2007 PGA Tour FedEx Cup schedule.

First, you might some want some Dramamine after this song-and-dance routine on the summer vs. fall...

"It was a tough call but we thought, for a lot of reasons, that it could work quite well in Hartford in the fall," Finchem said. "But that was a miscalculation of the attitude of the community, which felt strongly that it could not be as strong in the fall. That led to the shift in interest in the Champions Tour, which obviously isn't as big a deal but what [the Jaycees] thought might work better in the summer than the fall date.

"Hartford had always been a priority for us, but [its date] had moved around a lot and inhibited the tournament from being able to grow from a marketing standpoint. We never felt Hartford was a tournament that didn't deserve to be in the summer, but we just had to make some choices. We made the determination that we were going to lock people into dates as best we could, and we felt Hartford would be good in the fall because of agronomics, weather, being one of the top two or three courses in that time frame and being able to be marketed well."

Amazing what work it is to say "the 84 Lumber people were more willing to meet our price, then they changed their mind."

Now, for those permutations of the port of call...

"But the community felt they would much prefer to be in the summer, so we worked with them on all the permutations. We already knew it could work in the time frame and told St. Paul we weren't in position to do exactly what they wanted to do to trigger their commitment. But when 84 Lumber stepped aside, they were the first port of call and everybody got excited."

 You know I've been thinking, the Commissioner could better tap into the youth market if he would talk more like HBO's Ali G. Using the Ali G translator tranzlata, see how that last statement could better connect with the coveted 18-34 year olds:

"but da community felt dey would much dig to be in da summa, so we worked wiv them on all da permutations. we already knew it could wurk in da time frame and told st. paul we weren't in position to do pacifically wot dey wanted to do to trigga their commitment. but whun 84 lumba stepped aside, dey were da first port of call and me crew got excited." 

"Me crew" is just so much more youthful. Anyway, just a suggestion on skewing younger Commissioner. Yours in branding, Geoff.

Oh, and he also talked to Berlet about the FedEx Cup...

Finchem said the FedEx Cup points system is likely to be finalized at a tour board meeting in June, with major championships having more points but not "throwing the system out of whack." Players will accumulate points from January to mid-August, and those higher in the standings will have an advantage going into a three-event series in suburban New York, Boston and Chicago before playing the Tour Championship.

"Top players have to pay attention to the aggregation of points and that translates into the likelihood of playing a more concentrated schedule," Finchem said.

Ah, maybe he's been looking at MacDuff's FedEx point standings?

And Yet More 84 Talk

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The shock is wearing off and Gerry Dulac points out the absurdity of a company doing billions in sales and that spared no expense to make the 84 Lumber Classic a significant event, suddenly worrying about the PGA Tour's measely $8 million price tag. Something strange is going on here...

As if a couple million, even $8 million, can even begin to put a dent in $10 billion?

And when did the Hardy family all of a sudden start worrying about a couple of million?

He has poured more than $100 million into making Nemacolin Woodlands the destination of the rich and famous, and that doesn't include the $66 million Falling Rock lodge that is patterned after The Cloister at Sea Island, Ga. After the first year of the tournament, he bought more than 250 acres to build access roads to the golf course and had a driving range constructed that was the envy of other PGA Tour events. What's more, Pete Dye, the architect of Mystic Rock, was brought back so many times to improve the golf course that even he joked, "That's my annuity."

84 Classic Follow Up

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Gerry Dulac has a little more insight into the impact of 84 Lumber's "aggresive three-year business plan," but the end of this emerging event is still a shocker:

The decision came as a surprise to just about everyone because the tournament recently reached a new six-year agreement with the PGA Tour to move the event to mid-June, beginning in 2007 -- a time spot that had long been targeted and desired by tournament host and sponsor Joe Hardy.

What's more, since the inception of the tournament, Mr. Hardy had spent more than $80 million to improve facilities, upgrade the Mystic Rock golf course that hosted the event and make the tournament one of the best late-summer stops on the PGA Tour.

In a statement released yesterday, Maggie Hardy Magerko, owner and president of 84 Lumber Co. and Mr. Hardy's daughter, said the tournament will be discontinued as part of a strategic growth plan in which the company wants to add 125 stores and hit $10 billion in sales by 2009. The firm also plans to close 67 "underperforming" stores; that move would affect 600 employees.

Mrs. Magerko unveiled the financial plan last week and immediately informed PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem. But the announcement that the 84 Lumber Classic will cease to exist didn't come until yesterday, when a tournament in Hartford, Conn., sponsored by the St. Paul Travelers Co., was named as a replacement.

Just When We Thought That They Were Out...

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...Hartford is back in in the uh, FedEx Cup (formerly known as the PGA Tour).  Dont' worry, the PGA Tour didn't come to its senses and realize that it had shipped a 55-yaer old history and charity-rich event off to the fall.

Instead, according to Commissioner Finchem:

"The opportunity for Hartford to move into the June 2007 slot previously committed to the 84 Lumber Classic recently arose when 84 Lumber informed us that it had embarked on an aggressive three-year business plan and wanted to reevaluate the June sponsorship."

I'm open to suggestions on what embarking on "an aggressive three-year business plan" translates to?

Thanks to reader Robert for the heads up.

Finchem Is Talking Bunkum...!?

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Alan Campbell in the Sunday Herald may have to pay for a Tour media guide after this little WGC inspired column:

...what is despicable is the conduct of PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem. Not content with ruling the roost over a circuit which is the Premiership to Europe’s Coca-Cola Championship, this myopic golf controller has annexed the so-called world golf championships for the greater good of Uncle Sam. Next year all three WGC events will be staged in the United States, just as they will in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Finchem’s defence? “They’re staged at a level which can pay significant prize money,” said the PGA Tour commissioner. “That costs money.”

Pausing only to let this staggering sliver of logic sink in, Finchem continued: “The American marketplace is best suited to generate those kind of resources. I think that’s why, historically, three of the four Major championships are in the United States.”

Finchem is talking bunkum, as the American marketplace wasn’t involved in the evolving of the Majors. He compounds his error by inviting the question: given that the United States already has the cream of world golf’s championships, why does it need to selfishly syphon off the next tier?
And...
The unwillingness of the Phil Mickelsons and Davis Loves to rack up transatlantic air miles is, along with the financial muscle of US corporations and the dictates of the American television networks, the reason why the world golf championships have become almost as big a misnomer as the World Series in baseball.

John Daly and Woods are just about the only two high profile Americans prepared to leave the country for anything other than the Open Championship. While both are paid handsomely in appearance money, they see the bigger picture. “There should be at least one [WGC] every year somewhere other than America,” said Woods. “Obviously the market is huge here, but it is a world game and any opportunity to get the best players to other parts of the world is a great way to grow golf.”

The PGA Tour have cemented the WGC events into their revamped schedules, which start from next year. It stinks, but then money usually does.