Anheuser-Busch drops Kingsmill LPGA tournament 22/09/2009 |
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Anheuser-Busch and LPGA officials jointly announced Monday that the highly popular Michelob Ultra Open Championship at Kingsmill has been discontinued. The event completed its seventh year on the LPGA tour last May.
Although the brewer will continue to spend millions of dollars on marketing with the LPGA Tour, vice president Dan McHugh said that the emphasis will be to spread its dollars across all of the events. One deal currently being negotiated is to make Michelob Ultra the tour's official beer.
Almost immediately after the announcement, McHugh, tournament director Wayne Nooe and LPGA vice president for marketing Eric Albrecht made every argument for keeping the tournament: popularity among players and fans, setting, and the reputation as one of tour's best-run events. The argument for canceling the event?
"To widen our breadth," McHugh said.
Nooe and McHugh told the event's estimated 1,500 volunteers just before meeting with reporters. The decision, both men said, was only reached about a week ago.
Both men also left open the possibility that the LPGA could return to Kingsmill, even if another company was the title sponsor.
This marks the end of a 29-year run of professional golf tournaments held at Kingsmill's River Course.
(Source: vagazette.com)
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