Sony extends golf tourney sponsorship through 2014

Sony Corp. announced on Nov. 30 that it has agreed to extend its title sponsorship of the PGA Tour’s Sony Open at the Waialae Country Club through 2014. Sony has sponsored the open since 1999, and last year agreed to a one-year extension of its sponsorship to include the 2011 Open.

Local charities benefit by Sony’s sponsorship of the tournament. Each year, The Friends of Hawaii Charities, which is the host organization for the event, receives about $1 million from tournament proceeds and a matching grant from the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.

Sony Corp. General Manager Kay Aoki said Sony decided to continue its involvement with the tournament despite signs of weakness in the global economy. “It was not the easiest of decisions, bearing in mind the instability of the economy,” Aoki said. “But the contribution of the Sony Open to us is huge, and we decided it was worth it.”

Aoki said the tournament’s purse will be $5.4 million in 2011 and will increase by 5 percent for each year until 2014. Sony Corp. covers the purse and also the cost of hosting 300 invited guests for a week-long stay in Hawaii.