The Takeaway
Champions Tour, Independence
Eye Event at the Central Virginia
Club Next Year
rnold Palmer was a member of
the Senior PGA Tour when
he won his last professional
event, the Crestar Classic, at
Hermitage Country Club
in Manakin-Sabot in 1988.
T years later, the Senior T concluded
wo
our
a successful eight-year run at Hermitage. And
now, 25 years later, the Champions Tour is
looking to return to Richmond.
PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem,
Champions T president Greg McLaughlin
our
and the PGA Tour’s senior vice president of
brand marketing Ric Clarson headlined a
presentation held Feb. 27 at Independence
Golf Club in Midlothian. The gathering was
aimed at determining interest in a Champions
T event coming to the club. Players age 50
our
and older compete on the Champions Tour.
The proposed tournament would be one
of two added as playoff events for the Charles
Schwab Cup in October 2016. The Schwab
Cup is the Champions Tour’s version of the
PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup, which features four
playoff tournaments.
Finchem, a University of Richmond alum
and a member of the institution’s board of
trustees, was in town for the installation of the
new president at UR, Dr. Ronald A. Crutcher.
Finchem’s ties to the community through UR
is one of the reasons he said Richmond and
Independence would be a good fit for the
Champions T
our.
“Given the time of year, the weather in
Richmond is fabulous. Now it’s a question of
if we can get the right partnership together
in the community from a charity standpoint,
from a sponsorship standpoint, to make
something work,” Finchem says.
A tournament of such magnitude would
require a title sponsor, key partnerships and a
charitable organization for which to play. The
financial commitment as a title sponsor for a
Champions T event is between $2 million
our
and $3 million.
A ballroom of possible sponsors, partners
and charities heard the pitch.
Brothers and Independence owners Giff
Breed (a UR graduate) and Alan Breed (a UR
trustee) are excited Independence is one of the
venues being considered.
“I think that Commissioner Finchem and
the Champions T choosing Independence
our
to be a playoff spot speaks volumes about the
city of Richmond and what Lester [George]
did from a design standpoint with the golf
course,” Breed says.
George made some significant renovations
PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem has
connections to the Richmond region.
in 2014 to increase playability on Tom Fazio’s
original design. Among the major changes
were new grasses on the greens and fairways,
reconstruction of and reducing the number
of sand bunkers, and removing more than
600 trees.
Now comes the task of strategizing and
sorting through logistical items.
“Our partner from an operations standpoint
and national sponsorship sales is Interna ѥ