Web.com tourney gains LRS as presenting sponsor

WHEN asked to summarize Levi, Ray & Shoup’s three-year agreement to serve as presenting sponsor for the Web.com Tour golf event at Panther Creek Country Club, tournament executive director Kate Peters used the word “credibility.”

“It’s hard to put it in a nutshell,” Peters said Tuesday. “But anytime you can add a sizeable sponsor with as much credibility as LRS, it gives us more credibility.

“I think it helps people know we’re here to stay. Some people might have been hesitant to support the tournament because they weren’t sure about our longevity.

“For LRS not being involved the first year (of the tournament) to sponsoring the pro-am last year to being a presenting sponsor this year, it’s fantastic.”

The men’s professional golf tournament, part of the developmental tour for the PGA Tour, has been known as the Lincoln Land Charity Championship the past two years. But the third annual event, scheduled June 28-July 1 at Panther Creek, will be known as the Lincoln Land Championship Presented by LRS.

The Web.com Tour is owned by the PGA Tour, which underwrote the local tournament the past two years. Gaining a title or presenting sponsor has been a high priority.

“We felt like being a presenting spon- sor was a good fit for us,” said LRS Vice President Greg Matthews. “And it was good on the PGA side of it.

“The PGA made a commitment coming here. They’ve been supporting it themselves the last two years. After seeing the talent that comes to Springfield, and the way the (tour) players paid attention to fans and pro-am participants, we wanted to support it even more.”

Matthews declined to reveal a dollar amount for his company serving as presenting sponsor, saying only it will be a sixfigure amount. He said LRS will continue to also sponsor the Wednesday pro-am.

LRS previously sponsored the Cham- pions Club, a wining and dining area for spectators, at the LPGA State Farm Classic. LRS also has sponsored Springfield NHRA racer Tim Wilkerson since 1999.

While major sponsorship for an LPGA Tour event would run into seven figures for one year, several officials involved with the local event in recent years have provided a $500,000 ballpark figure for a company to serve as a title sponsor.

There is some gray area between title and presenting sponsorships. State Farm Insurance was the title sponsor of the local LPGA event from 1993-2011. But while the Web.com Tour event will not be known as the LRS Classic, Peters said the local company’s commitment is substantial.

“The operating budget for these ( Web. com) tournaments is greatly reduced compared to the LPGA or the PGA,” she said. “Back in the day, there was no way the LPGA (tournament) could have existed without a title sponsor.

“But gaining a presenting sponsor catapults us forward, for sure.”

Peters said the addition of LRS as presenting sponsor will not change the prize- money purse for this year. It will remain $ 550,000, with $ 99,000 to the winner. Peters also said television coverage is not in the picture for this year.