PGA Tour takes over Maui’s Tournament of Champions
The PGA Tour will take over management and marketing operations of the $5.6 million 2012 Hyundai Tournament of Champions on Maui until a new board and executive director are in place. On Sept. 9, Andy Pazder, PGA Tour executive vice president and chief of operations, said a team from the tour’s Championship Management Division has been assigned to oversee next year’s tournament at Kapalua. The invitation-only event features winners from the previous year’s PGA tournaments and kicks off the new PGA season each January.
The PGA tour requires that a nonprofit host organization operate its tournaments, with proceeds from each event given to the nonprofit. Kapalua Maui Charities had served as the host organization for years, but pulled out last year, leaving the event without a host.
The Mark and Debi Rolfing Charitable Foundation stepped in at the last minute and ran the 2011 Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Although the PGA Tour was pleased with the way this year’s tournament was run, officials said the Rolfing foundation was never seen as the permanent host organization.
“Our long-term plan was always to create a permanent host organization, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, and we’re in the process of doing that,” Padzer said. He said the tour is putting together a board of directors and looking for an executive director. Pazder said he didn’t believe this could be done before January’s Hyundai tournament, so the PGA stepped in and will operate the upcoming event.
Hyundai Motor America is the title sponsor for the event and is contractually committed to keeping the Tournament of Champions on Maui for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. What happens after that is not known. The Hawaii Tourism Authority estimates that the Tournament of Champions brings in $10 million annually to the state’s economy and gives the Islands worldwide television exposure in what is the dead of winter in many parts of the globe. The event also has raised about $3.8 million for Maui charities since 1999.
