Featured Golf News
LPGA Tour Suffers Another Blow
The LPGA Tour has lost another event, and this time it's a big one. On Monday, Anheuser-Busch announced it was not renewing its sponsorship of the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill after a seven-year run.
Anheuser-Busch vice president Dan McHugh said the company decided to spread its sponsorships over a wider range of professional golf events, but that the beer-making giant will continue working with the LPGA.
Since 2007, the LPGA has lost at least seven tournaments to sponsor withdrawals. This one, like the others, hits local charities - along with area golf fans - the hardest. Among these is the Williamsburg Junior Woman's Club, which ran the players' nursery for the PGA and LPGA events at Kingsmill; the organization netted $12,000 one year.
"We were starting to see the signs," club president Colleen Carpinelli told Virginia Gazette reporter Rusty Carter on Monday. "Things had been changing, and in a downward way."
Another recipient of tournament dollars was Habitat for Humanity. Executive director Janet V. Green said the donation from this year's LPGA event was about $2,500, but the publicity was worth more.
"The LPGA brought awareness about the lack of affordable housing in the Williamsburg area," Green told Carter. Each year a few players would come to a house timed to be under construction during tournament week.
Professional and volunteer firefighters in James City County also benefited from the tournament. Along with Williamsburg firefighters, they manned a first-aid trailer that served fans and players alike. James City Fire Chief Tal Luton said Tuesday that his department received a $4,600 donation from this year's event. The money goes into a general donation fund.
A smaller but more vital loss is to the volunteer firefighters, which got about $3,000 this year. "It hurts us, it hurts the community," said president Paul Reier. "We might not be able to replace some equipment as quickly as we do now."
Art Hudgins, owner of Hudgins Holiday Olds Cadillac GMC, loaned 15-20 cars to the tournament every year for use by players and staff. "I think it's sad," Hudgins responded after Carter broke the news of the tournament's demise. "It did wonders for the businesses here in town. It was really good for this market to have [an event like that] that going on here. We looked forward to it every year, where we could get over there and promote our product."
Reigning Michelob Ultra champion Cristie Kerr had this to say in response to an e-mail from the Gazette: "I am grateful for the past support of Anheuser-Busch, Kingsmill Resort and the fans and supporters of the LPGA in the Virginia area, which were second to none on the LPGA Tour," Kerr said. "I will deeply miss not being able to compete on an amazing course in what has become my favorite tour stop since the tournament's inception."
The announcement marks the end of a 29-year run of professional golf tournaments at Kingsmill's River Course.
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