PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The PGA Tour and Web.com, a provider of Internet services and online marketing solutions for small- to medium-sized businesses, on Wednesday announced a 10-year agreement whereby the company becomes the umbrella sponsor of the newly named Web.com Tour.
Formerly known as the Nationwide Tour, the Web.com Tour will continue to identify and transition players who are ready to compete and win on the PGA Tour. It currently awards PGA Tour membership to the 25 leading money winners at the end of the season. Beginning in 2013, however, the importance of the Web.com Tour will further increase when the new qualifying structure for the PGA Tour expands that number to 50.
The Web.com umbrella sponsorship takes effect immediately with this week’s United Leasing Championship at Victoria National Golf Club near Evansville, Ind., and extends through 2021. In addition to the umbrella sponsorship, Web.com will also become an Official Marketing Partner of the PGA Tour, Web.com Tour and Champions Tour.
The announcements were made jointly by PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem; David L. Brown, Web.com’s Chairman, President and CEO; and Bill Calfee, President of the Web.com Tour.
“This sponsorship is a perfect fit for us – Web.com is committed to helping small- and medium-sized businesses compete and succeed online, just as the Web.com Tour helps talented, dedicated athletes maximize their potential and fulfill their dreams,” Brown said. “The Web.com brand will gain exceptional visibility as a result of our sponsorship of the Web.com Tour. In addition, we believe that the professionalism and competition of PGA Tour golf resonates strongly with small- and medium-sized business owners, making the national and international exposure we achieve with this sponsorship an unparalleled opportunity to reach more of our target market.”
Nationwide Insurance sponsored the Tour since 2003. As previously announced, the Columbus, Ohio-based company decided to assume presenting sponsorship of its hometown PGA Tour event, the Memorial Tournament, when that opportunity opened for the 2011 season. It was prepared to fulfill its umbrella sponsorship of the Tour through this year before Web.com expressed interest in assuming the sponsorship immediately.
“Nationwide has been a terrific partner of the PGA Tour for more than 20 years, dating back to its involvement as a tournament sponsor on the Champions Tour, ” Finchem said. “We thank Nationwide for its tremendous support and contributions as an umbrella sponsor of the Tour since 2003. We are delighted we will continue to work together on Nationwide’s two Columbus-based events, Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational on the Web.com Tour.”
