PGA Tour to lose another long-time tournament sponsor

14/01/2024 17:40

There may be another long-term event sponsor set to leave the PGA Tour as rumours swirl that Farmers Insurance may not extend its agreement when it ends in 2026.

Farmers Insurance has been the title sponsor of the San Diego-based tournament since 2010 and in 2018 signed a seven-year extension.

But the Sports Business Journal claims that the corporation will not extend the agreement.

This is the most recent sponsor setback for the Tour, after Wells Fargo’s announcement in December of last year that it would no longer be supporting the Wells Fargo Championship at the end of the following season.

Honda also announced in February of last year that it will stop sponsoring the Honda Classic after 42 years, effective after the 2023 competition. Since then, Cognizant, an IT services business, has been announced as the new title sponsor of the event held in South Florida.

Only a few days ago, World No.2 Rory McIlroy issued a warning, advising the game’s top players to abandon their status as independent contractors and commit to a calendar of tournaments in order to retain sponsors.

“When you look at different sports and the media landscape and how much these media companies are paying for sporting events, I think you have to be able to guarantee them the product that they are paying for,” the Northern Irishman said, speaking ahead of the Dubai Invitational.

“So in my opinion, yeah, I would say that people would have to be contracted and sign up to a certain number of events every year; that the sponsors and media partners know that the guys they want to be there are going to be."

Despite claims that Wells Fargo was still eager to sponsor a tournament, it appears that Farmers Insurance has decided to reduce its engagement in the sport to preserve the company’s long-term financial viability.

Longtime Farmers Insurance partner Rickie Fowler announced last week at The Sentry that his contract with the business was not being extended.

The Farmers Insurance Open is held at Torrey Pines South Course, with rising star Max Homa the reigning champion. With a two-shot victory against Keegan Bradley, the Californian won the event for the first time in 2023 and recorded his sixth career PGA Tour win at the famous course.

In addition to sponsoring the PGA Tour tournament, Farmers also provides support for the Advocates Pro Golf Association (APGA) event held at the same location.

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