Also-Ran PGA Tour Events Feeling Worst Pinch

Think about the 2009 PGA Tour schedule for a minute.  What events are in most trouble?  What are the ones that are losing sponsorship?  Consider these items:

• The AT&T Classic at Sugarloaf is not on the 2009 schedule because of a weak field and tough economy in which AT&T would be sponsoring an event that had a date after the Players.
• US Bank dropped its option to be sponsor of the Milwaukee event - run opposite the Open Championship - after this season, citing lack of fan and player interest.
• Ginn dropped it sponsorship of its Fall Series event, primarily because they were going bankrupt, but it also drew a tough place in the schedule.
• Now, the Wyndham Championship, which precedes the first round of the PGA Tour Playoffs, is talking about its struggles to find supplemental sponsorships.  Wyndham doesn't appear in any particular trouble, but with a bad date, even the PGA Tour's most improved event in 2008 may have a rough patch ahead.

What do all of these tournaments have in common?  Tough dates.  They are located at a place on the schedule where it is next to impossible to attract a great field.  The PGA Tour does not compel players to enter any tournament.  This means that there are a number of tournaments that suffer each year due simply to where they are on the schedule.  These four events fit that bill well.

In an economy like this one, it is difficult for sponsors to sink around $5 million into title sponsorship when there simply is not the same value in these events as there are in others on the schedule with better dates. 

The PGA Tour does not want to go dark (aka, have no event) for stretches of its schedule.  It also wants to provide maximum playing opportunities for its members.  That's why events like these exist in the first place.

If shoes continue to drop in this sponsorship saga, though, expect tournaments like these to be the first to go.  And it will impact the way in which many players approach keeping their PGA Tour card.