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According to the Sports Business Journal, the PGA Tour's has ended its nine year partnership with the sponsor, Barbasol which will have repercussions on the iconic Barbasol Championship. Having debuted in 2015, the tournament holds great significance in the state of Kentucky.
Having moved the tournament's location to Keene Trace Golf Club in 2018, the Barbasol Championship was the first PGA Tour event to be held in the state of Kentucky since the 1959 Kentucky Derby Open. The tournament, however, will continue under the new sponsor's name.
The ISCO Championship will now be a part of the PGA Tour season, beginning this July 11–14, along with the new sponsor, the ISCO Industry. The 2024 ISCO Championship will be held opposite the DP World Tour's Genesis Scottish Open. The deal signed with the new title sponsor has been reportedly locked until 2027.
Speaking on the new partnership with the piping solutions company, the PGA Tour's Chief Competitions Officer, Tyler Dennis, had this to say:
" As a proud company based in the Bluegrass State, ISCO Industries has stepped up to further elevate the ISCO Championship in the Kentucky community. The PGA TOUR and DP World Tour look forward to introducing ISCO to its players and fans at the ISCO Championship later this year."
PGA Tour to lose more sponsors
The report, dated June 5, 2024, not only reveals the PGA Tour's end with its nine year-long title sponsor, Barbasol, but also suggests that it is heading towards losing more sponsors.
After facing financial battles since the emergence of the Saudi based LIV Golf League, the report says that Farmers Insurance will also soon pull out of the PGA Tour. It has been learned that they will not renew their contract after its expiration in 2026.
Additionally, in December 2023, Wells Fargo announced the end of its 22 year long partnership with the Tour. After a five year extension signed in 2019, the final Wells Fargo Championship was played this year.
The Sports Business Journal report states that Truist Financial Corporation, will replace Wells Fargo as the title sponsor starting 2025. It was also suggested that the RBC, a title sponsor of the RBC Canadian Open since 2008 and RBC Heritage since 2012, is not keen on renewing its contract with the PGA Tour.
Speaking on the matter, star player, Webb Simpson told Golf Monthly earlier this year, that several of the PGA Tour's sponsors are "starting to feel the financial pressure."
“ The amount of money we’re playing for is astonishing considering how many people watch our sport... The model is broken at the purse sizes we’ve been going the last year. And the sponsors are starting to feel it. Sponsors are pulling out. Wells Fargo, Farmers, there will probably be a couple more this year I would think, maybe one or two more,” he said.
