Sponsor jitters hit ‘strained’ PGA Tour

The PGA Tour is in danger of losing yet another sponsor.

The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is refusing to commit to a multi-year extension of its current deal with the mainly Us-based circuit until such times as changes are made.

RBC is understood to have paid the PGA Tour $25 million to be the title sponsor for last month’s BC Heritage on Hilton Head Island and the upcoming RBC Canadian Open.

It has bankrolled the latter since 2008, saving the event from possible oblivion and added the former to its portfolio in 2012. However, with both deals up after this year and until it gets some guarantees on the future of the PGA Tour specifically and men’s professional golf more broadly, the bank is refusing to spend another dime, Scoregolf.com reported.

Mary Depaoli, RBC executive vice-president and chief marketing officer, said: “We’re all experiencing some frustration, whether we’re a sponsor or a fan or the players.

“We are all watching the PGA Tour right now trying to sort through a business model that has been under some significant strain and has still not fully resolved itself and that’s still TBD.

“It’s required a lot of patience from the players and it’s required a lot of patience from sponsors and fans.”

The news of RBC’S hesitancy to continue its support is bound to worrying the beaks at the PGA Tour HQ.

The circuit lost Honda’s support last year, while Wells Fargo announced in December that it would not continue its support of the Wells Fargo Championship when its deal expires next year.

Ms Depaoli added: “Golf might be at this moment in time where, unlike a lot of other professional sports, it’s going through change, it’s going through transformation.”