AUSTIN (Texas) — When the news broke that the World Golf Championships – Dell Technologies Match Play was entering its final chapter many in the golf industry wondered who was responsible for the failure of a tournament leaving one of America’s most dynamic metropolitan areas.
According to a column written by Kirk Bohls, renowned writer from the Austin American-Statesman both sides are responsible for the split.
The Cadence Bank Houston Open will fill the Florida Swing’s late March date due to changes in the PGA Tour schedule.
Since 2016, when Dell became the title sponsor, Austin Country Club has hosted Match Play. The World Golf Championships were the top-ranking tournaments in golf at the time. They were behind the four majors, and the Players Championship, which was the Tour’s flagship event.
Bohls reported that a group of members of Austin Country Club turned down support for the tournament, despite being named six times Texas sportswriter of year by National Sports Media Association.
From Bohls’ column:
The ACC was paid almost $2 million by the Tour for last year’s event. Former Texas Longhorn Scottie Scheffler won the award. The club had been offered a $3 million annual salary and two tickets for 650 members. The club rejected the offer before it could be put to a vote.
The two parties were very close in August. However, LIV Golf made headlines and forced the Tour to make changes such as a shorter calendar and higher events with purses up to $20 million. After initially approuving the event by over 90 percent, the club membership passed the extension by 57 per cent. There were only 46 negative votes from the 46ers.
The news is not only sad for Austin golfers, but also for many charities that were able to benefit from the event. Bohls reports that the tournament gave more than $6 million in donations to local charities, including Dell Children’s Medical Center.
Bohls claimed that club members had hoped for an unusually high payday from the PGA Tour, quoting a well-connected source. This caused a breakdown in negotiations, and circumstances changed when club members expressed an interest in returning to the table.
The club appears to have overplayed its hand by getting greedy. ACC has grand plans for a new clubhouse. This won’t come cheap. Some in the PGA Tour hierarchy were annoyed that neither side was willing to compromise, and ACC unwillingly accepted the generous offer from the PGA.
The source claimed that the club was “a bit greedy”. They thought that the Tour was an endless checkbook. We offered huge amounts of money. Each party was responsible. Egos on both parties.”… Austin has no other site because The Hills and Barton Creek are both considered “operational nightmares” by the PGA Tour.
Although the PGA Tour has yet to release next season’s schedule , this could mean that at least one event will be canceled in 2024 or that a replacement event could be added.
