Robust Advance Sales For BMW At Crooked Stick Confirm There's Very Little To Do In Indianapolis

From an unbylined AP story suggest the four-day September tournament could approach galleries of 150,000. Or, what Scottsdale actually gets for the week.

Organizers already have announced the tourney will return to Chicago in 2013 and 2015, with Denver hosting it in 2014. But Indy's response could push the city into the BMW rotation or perhaps prompt tour officials to give Indianapolis a chance to fill a hole on a future schedule.

"At the present time, we don't have any openings," PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw said Tuesday. "But certainly, Indy's record makes it a market that we would always be interested in at looking at if there was an open spot. A significant number of our events are signed through post-2014."

Phoenix typically has the largest announced crowds for non-majors, but Midwestern cities such as St. Louis and Minneapolis traditionally have drawn well when they make it onto the schedule. Crooked Stick has, too.

Golf's Leaders About To Descend On D.C., This Time Lobbyists In Tow

Bill Pennington reports on National Golf Day this Wednesday where golf's suits travel to Washington to tell the suits there that golf actually generates a lot more economic and charitable revenue than most sports combined.

Facts about golf are surprisingly contrary to the persistent image of a sport at a pricey country club. For example, 70 percent of the golf rounds played in the United States take place at golf courses open to the public. Only 10 percent of 26 million golfers in the United States belong to private clubs. The average price of 18 holes on a weekend, with a golf cart, is about $40.

Golf is a $43 billion industry ($76 billion when tourism and real estate are included), and it employs nearly two million Americans. Golf also generates more than $3 billion in charitable contributions.

“Golf is good for 100 percent of the population, not just the 10 percent of the population that plays golf,” said Mike Hughes, chief executive of the National Golf Course Owners Association. “It’s more than a game. It’s a stable employer, it’s entertainment and it’s recreation. It’s our job in the golf industry to do a better job of telling the complete story of golf in America.