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Curtain call?

Commentary: New title sponsor needed for GHC’s return

Paul Fogleman

Record Sports Correspondent

Published: August 5, 2009

CONOVER - The day was so perfect.

Glorious blue skies above. Moderate temperatures permeating the morning's round of golf.

They seemed almost devilish in the way they masked a dark undercurrent swirling about during the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn Presented by Kia Motors Media Day event Tuesday.

The speculation had been bubbling since R.W. Eaks claimed his second of back-to-back Greater Hickory Classic championships last September. It was a certainty that the tourney would return for a seventh time next month.

But once a champion is crowned for this year's tournament on Sept 20, the clock begins to tick. And whoever hoists the champion's trophy may be the last to do so.

America is still in the grip of its most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression, and casualties of the crisis are littered throughout the nation. Sadly, the Greater Hickory Classic could be another added to the list.

Since its inception in 2003, the Classic has made its home in an area that has seen it fair share of economic turmoil. The erosion of our manufacturing base that built up our region has produced unemployment numbers that now place the Hickory metropolitan area among the highest in the nation.

The beauty of the Classic – besides the opportunity to see some of golf's legends tee up in our own backyard – is that it offers us a breather. It gave us an event to take pride in and cheer about, and put our area on a national stage with the Golf's Channel's broadcast of the tournament.
All the while, local charities have realized a boon with the Classic's give-back to the community. It's been a win-win deal.

Sponsorship dollars these days, however, are precious, and whether the Classic can land such a commodity and exercise its Champions Tour option for 2010 is now, at best, a murky proposition.

Officials are optimistic the tourney can go on. But they know the sand starts to run through the hourglass soon in determining whether the event will be back for an eighth run.

"We like to look at the glass as half full, and do we know today if this will be our last event? Absolutely not," said Jim Correll, the tournament's executive director, during the Media Day press conference. "Corporate sponsorship of sports and entertainment are being particularly scrutinized. But speculation that the tournament is gone after this year, that is absolutely not true."

Correll, though, was candid in an interview following the press conference. While the tournament's presenting sponsoring in Kia Motors may very well return next year, a replacement for the Classic's title sponsor in Rock Barn Golf & Spa is being actively recruited.

"Don Beaver is looking for a sponsor to take the financial burden off Rock Barn and the Beaver entities," said Correll, referring to the owner of the Classic's venue. "The Tour loves us, and it has helped us in putting together packages to present to (potential) major sponsors. So there's a lot in our corner.

"We need to find more funding, but fortunately it's not like a decision has to be made today.
But it will need to be made soon.

The Tour would like to announce its 2010 schedule in late October or early November, and if the Greater Hickory Classic is to be a part of it, a title sponsor will need to be secured by that time.

If not, the Classic may have saved its best for last. The event has earned its reputation as one of the players' favorites for the amenities it offers, and eight of the top 10 money leaders and 26 of the top 30 have already committed to this year's tourney.

The Champions Tour plays five major events, but "Brandt Packer (producer) of the Golf Channel refers to the Greater Hickory Classic as the sixth major," Correll said.

It's an event that we as a community have wrapped our arms around. It's one that has provided plenty of hurrahs from players and fans alike over the past six years.

Let's hope year No. 7 isn't the final one.