Double blow for PGA Tour

Two tournaments to go as Buick pull sponsorship

Last updated: 6th August 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Double blow for PGA Tour

Tiger Woods celebrates his victory at the last-ever Buick Open

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It has been confirmed that both the Buick Invitational and the Buick Open are to be pulled from the PGA Tour schedule in 2010.

The move, which has been widely anticipated for some time, was announced on Tuesday in a joint-statement between the PGA Tour and troubled Detroit car manufacturer Buick.

The company has been badly hit by the global economic downturn and has now been forced to withdraw its sponsorship from two Tour events.

"As a result of the recent court-supervised restructuring of General Motors (GM), all agreements between Buick and the PGA Tour have been withdrawn," read the statement.

"This brings to an end the Buick Open at Warwick Hills, (Grand Blanc, Michigan) and Buick's sponsorship of the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines, (LaJolla, California).

"While this is disappointing news, both the PGA Tour and Buick remain in discussions regarding future sponsorship possibilities."

The PGA Tour have revealed they are to make an announcement on Wednesday about a replacement for the Buick Open, with The Greenbrier in West Virginia expected to host the new tournament.

It went on to add that alternative sponsorship would be sought for the Buick Invitational, where world number one Tiger Woods has emerged triumphant six times.

The final Buick Open was held last week when Woods clinched the title for a third time with a comfortable three-stroke victory.