Grocery chain Wegmans and the LPGA Tour are in discussions to craft a one-year deal to keep the LPGA Championship near their headquarters in Rochester, N.Y.
“I think both parties are trying to do a one-year deal, get it done, and maybe there’s a possibility of carrying on beyond that,” said tournament co-chairman Jerry Stahl, according to the Democrat and Chronicle.
The two sides had hoped to have a deal worked out in July, but Stahl insinuated all quiet is a good sign.
“The discussions have been on a very positive note, but we’re not going to know for probably another six weeks what the final deal is going to be," he said.
Wegmans has had their name on the LPGA Championship since 2010, when the long-standing Rochester event stepped in and up to help the LPGA Tour stage its major after leaving Bulle Rock in Maryland. Before '10, Rochester had held an LPGA event for the last 33 years.
The cost of staging the event has grown by almost four-fold in purse alone in the last 15 years, not to consider the increase in staging a modern golf tournament. It is too much for Wegmans to spend on their own, but a one-year deal would afford all sides time to identify either a new title sponsor or a consortium of businesses able to collectively shoulder the cost.
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