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PGA TOUR MEDIA CONFERENCE

June 26, 2006

BMW-PGA TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT

JIM KELLY: Good morning and welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the BMW-PGA TOUR Partnership press conference. I'm Jim Kelly, and as the long-standing voice of both the Americas Cup and the Champions Tour, I was indeed honored when my friends at BMW called and asked me to be here with you this morning.
I am fresh from Long Island yesterday where the weather was not dissimilar to what we're about to enjoy here, thunder and lightning and rain, but we did manage to get in one of the longest running events on the Champions Tour, an event that I mention because there are five former winners of Western Golf Association events that played on Long Island over the weekend, talking about men like Larry Nelson and Hale Irwin and Mark McCumber and Andy Bean, who just missed a short birdie putt on the 54th hole yesterday, otherwise it would have been a three-hole playoff. And Ben Crenshaw had one of his best Champions Tour events, another winner of your WGA event here.
The Americas Cup is the oldest trophy in sports. It goes all the way back to 1851 when those 14 yachts sailed around that tiny island off the coast of England, and when it was over it was the yacht America that had won, and the Queen of England was told, "America is first, there is no second." That quote actually exists in the New York Yacht Club, where Mr. Purvis visited yesterday at 55th Street in New York City. "America is first, there is no second."
Well, under the leadership of BMW, whose words like tactics, technology, teamwork, all synonymous with winning, there is no second with BMW. Speaking of seconds, speaking of runner-ups, I'll give you some names of players on the PGA TOUR like Vijay Singh and Greg Norman and Justin Leonard and Davis Love III, they've all been runner-ups in your championship event here.
But you look at the gallery of champions, the men that have won, going back to Walter Hagen, names like Hogan and Snead and Demaret and Palmer and Nicklaus and Watson, they've all been crowned champions in your event, an event that is steeped in history and in tradition.
I use those words tactics and teamwork and technology synonymous with BMW, so as I said, with BMW there is no second.
My first time at your event was 1971. I was doing golf on the radio back then. Bruce Crampton beat a guy by the name of Bobby Nichols in 1971. But of course through the years as we look at the PGA TOUR and that Drive to a Billion Dollars, the milestone that was met last year, your championship has played such an important role in helping to raise money for local charities, and we have our Evans Scholars table down here that have been the recipients of some of those charitable dollars.
We talk about the scholarship that began in 1930, the Evans Scholarship, and that year Gene Sarazen, The Squire, was the winner of the event here. To kind of get things going officially and welcome everyone, it's my pleasure to introduce the president of the Western Golf Association, ladies and gentlemen, our friend Mr. Rich Peterson.
RICH PETERSON: Thank you, Jim. Good morning, everybody. Welcome to a very big day for the Western Golf Association. WGA is moving into a new era in our long and enviable history of conducting professional golf tournaments. Our tournament will become an important and very high profile part of the PGA TOUR's format of having the season-ending playoff series, culminating with the single winner of the FedEx Cup.
We are one of the four tournaments in the PGA TOUR playoffs. In fact, we directly precede the TOUR Championship. This all but guarantees our fans in Chicago and throughout the Midwest of having the very best golfers in the world competing annually in our tournament.
We are absolutely delighted to be teamed with BMW as our title sponsor. BMW stands for excellence and quality in everything that they do, just as Western Golf Association stands for that same quality. We have a shared objective of bringing the very best of the PGA TOUR to Chicago and throughout the Midwest.
The real benefactor of these changes are the Evans Scholars Foundation and the Evans Scholars that you see seated here in front of me. As you know, WGA has administered the Evans Scholars Foundation since 1930, starting with two young men at Northwestern. The program today is proud of our 8,400 alums and our 820 scholars currently in school.
With a college tuition bill of just less than $8 million annually and growing at an 8 to 10 percent rate each year, the added contribution that this tournament brings to our foundation is sincerely appreciated.
We are taking our tournament to a new level. We are partnered with BMW, a highly respected international brand, as our title sponsor, as we are significantly enhancing our financial support of the Evans Scholars Foundation. That sounds like a win-win-win to me, or in golfspeak, on the putting green, good-good-good.
With that, I'd like to introduce to you the chairman of BMW North America, Mr. Tom Purvis. Welcome to the Western Golf Association, and welcome to Chicago.
(Applause).
TOM PURVIS: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and first of all, may I take this opportunity to thank you all for joining us this Monday morning, whether you're members of the media, friends of the organization, local retailers or Evans Scholars. We're delighted to see everybody here. We're really very pleased to be able to partner with the Western Golf Association and the PGA TOUR to be part of the innovative PGA TOUR playoff for the FedEx Cup starting next year.
There are a lot of reasons for a premium brand like BMW to be associated with golf, but I think three really stand out. The first is competition. BMW's reputation for technical innovation comes from a heritage of competition, primarily on two, and of course, four wheels. We are in a very highly competitive industry and recognize that we've got to earn our success from playing our own game and working hard every day to maximize our strengths.
As the penultimate round of the playoff series, the BMW Championship promises to intensify the drama, excitement and competitive skills inherent in all PGA TOUR events. Making the cut will take on a new dimension starting on September 9, 2007, at Cog Hill, as those who will move to final test of East Lake in Atlanta will be determined.
The second reason is sustainability, the obligation of a company to go beyond just offering its goods or services to make economic, environmental and social investments, as well. By partnering with the WGA, BMW will join thousands of individuals golfers at 500 clubs as an enthusiastic supporter of the Evans Scholar program.
The tradition of youth, of education and a strong work ethic that has been the foundation of the Evans Scholar program since 1930 is something that BMW applauds and will actively support.
The Evans Scholar program is a premier example of the PGA TOUR's commitment to giving back to the communities and the people who support the Tour.
As an aside, for any of you here today who quite enjoy golf trivia, it's coincidental that Chick Evans won his first major championships, the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Open in 1916, and in 1916 BMW opened its doors and began business.
Finally, and not least importantly, the BMW Championship adds dimensions to BMW's ongoing involvement with sports at the highest international level. In motorsport, there's Formula One with the BMW team that competed in Montreal yesterday and who will be in Indianapolis for the United States Grand Prix this coming weekend.
In sailing it's the BMW Oracle racing yacht that's the sole American challenger to try and recapture the Americas Cup in 2007.
And now, an expansion of BMW's existing association with professional golf that includes tournaments in Europe and Asia, the BMW Championship at Wentworth in England, which is the European PGA Championship, and the official status for this year's Ryder Cup matches in Ireland.
Golf in particular involves high values; it demands personal integrity. It has a remarkably effective handicap system, which in many ways brings an egalitarian aspect to a game that can be played by all ages. It is, in the end, the number one sport of the BMW customer group worldwide.
But all these three sports that I've referred to represent precision and intensity. They are dynamic, highly competitive and rich in tradition, and we believe those qualities mirror our brand. We are pleased to be part of that excitement worldwide, and now to have the right opportunity to be part of golf at the highest level in the United States as part of the inauguration of an innovative and bold season-ending championship.
We will use our multiyear agreement with the PGA TOUR and Western Golf Association in many traditional and in non-traditional ways. Of course, it gives us great opportunity to include our customers, our dealers, business associates and employees in the excitement of a major sporting event.
We also want to give access to this event to people from throughout the Midwest, so the BMW Championship will be played in greater Chicago in the odd numbered years starting at Cog Hill in 2007 and then travel to other venues in the even numbered years. Today we can announce that it will be played at Belle Rive in St. Louis in 2008 and at Crooked Stick in Indianapolis in 2010. The 2012 site will be announced soon.
We will create a connection with our BMW Golf Cup International, which is the largest amateur series in the world. More than 100,000 men and women, including 10,000 in the United States, will compete in local tournaments for the opportunity to play in BMW Golf Cup National and International championships. This year this will be 80 events in the United States, leading to the national final, which takes place at Pinehurst, and the world final, which this year takes place at Fancourt in South Africa.
We're going to use our involvement to offer Evans Scholars intern opportunities in the business. The auto industry is an exciting and rewarding place to build a career at both the manufacturer and retailer levels. So we want to expose more young men and women to the opportunities that our industry provides. We believe that by exposing the scholars to these opportunities, it will work to the benefit of both parties.
We're confident that by expanding the BMW Championship beyond Chicago, it will create even more attention to the Evans Scholars program and increase the annual donation and scholarship totals beyond the already very impressive totals of $8 million and nearly 900 students nearly achieved today.
Luke Donald is with us today. In many ways, Luke is symbolic of what we are discussing today. He is an Englishman and an international sports personality. He has competed in BMW events, including the BMW Championship at Wentworth in May and the BMW International Open in the company hometown of Munich. Beyond the golf course, he is an accomplished artist, and of course, he is a graduate of Northwestern, where the Evans Scholars were founded back in 1930.
BMW is honored to build on the rich tradition of the Western Golf Association, to be part of an exciting new era of the PGA TOUR, to have the opportunity to expand the premium style of our company and brands to include premier American golf.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am here today, very proud to represent BMW North America in this venture. I am accompanied by Chris Koenders from our corporate headquarters, BMW AG in Germany, who have done a tremendous job of supporting golf in Europe and in Asia and have actually contributed substantially to advise and help in our being able to come to a satisfactory conclusion of our involvement here.
When BMW does get involved in something, it does it with intensity. It's our intention to give back as much as we can to a sport that many of us enjoy on a personal level and private level, and many of us would love to play as well as Mr. Donald does. From my perspective, it's a pleasure, Luke, to welcome you here and to ask you to say a few words at this juncture. Thank you.
(Applause).
LUKE DONALD: Thank you, Tom, and thank you, everyone, for having me here today, and welcome all to this special occasion for the WGA and the Western Open and BMW.
As Tom said, I have played in a number of BMW events throughout the world. I've been to Shanghai to the BMW Asian Open, I've played the last two years at Munich for their International Open, and of course I've played at Wentworth, which really is the flagship event of the European Tour, the BMW Championship.
I think it was only a matter of time before BMW were going to make their presence felt on the PGA TOUR. I'm just happy to know that it's going to be the Western Open that they're sponsoring. Having lived here for now nine years, having gone to Northwestern for four of those years, '97 to 2001, I still continue to spend a lot of my free time in Chicago and in Evanston, and the Western Open is always one of the events that I look forward to the most. Not only is it a home event, but having the sponsorship from the WGA and all that it does for the Evans Scholars, it's a wonderful tournament.
I'm very much looking forward to this partnership, as you all are. Thanks very much for having me here.
(Applause).
JIM KELLY: Before I kind of reintroduce our panel and we have some questions, obviously Tom alluded to Cog Hill. When I think of Cog Hill, I think of the year of the U.S. Amateur here when Raymond Floyd was actually caddying for his son Robert as Robert was trying to make it all the way to the finals. Here you have Ray Floyd with the two PGA TOUR titles, the U.S. Open at Shinnecock, and there's Ray out in a tee-shirt and Bermuda shorts caddying for his son.
So that's the next home of the BMW Championship. When you think of Belle Rive and St. Louis, I think of one of America's radio stations, KMOX, the long-time voice of the Cardinals. It's like WBBM here in Chicago. When the BMW moves to St. Louis, not only do you pick up some great newspapers there but some great radio stations for coverage, as well, and St. Louis is also the birthplace, if you will, not far from our Hall of Famer Hale Irwin and the Gallery of Champions at the BMW Championship, Hale and Sally raising literally millions of dollars for St. Louis Children's Hospital back there. Hale I just mentioned competed in Long Island, but in your BMW Championship Gallery of Champions, as well. As Tom has alluded to, and Luke, as well, giving back.
Before I get to the panel, since we are in the media, I had it blown up so you'll know it was an actual headline, and we all love the game of golf. I thought I would share with you a headline from London for Luke and friends. Luke, of course, was born in England.
"'Four Scottish golfers were so dedicated to their sport that even the death on the first tee of their longtime playing partner did not deter them from finishing their round. Jimmy Hoag, 77, collapsed and died of a heart attack moments after firing the opening shot in his regular Saturday morning game with his playing partners,' according to the London Daily Guardian newspaper. 'Hoag's four fellow players paused while he was taken away by ambulance and then played on.'" Dedication to the game.
Our panel from my far left is the CEO and the director of marketing for the PGA TOUR, my longtime friend Tom Wade. Welcome.
Luke you've heard from, he was born in England, lives over here, won twice on the European Tour, won twice on the PGA TOUR, a member of the European Ryder Cup team, and this is the year of BMW's involvement in the Ryder Cup. Luke as you know went to Northwestern, where he was an art theory and art practicing major, and I recall a couple of years ago he did a painting that I think went to PGA TOUR Charities as well as some other charities for the Evans Scholarship Fund. It went for about $1,650. Will you do another for the inaugural that we can raffle off at the BMW Championship Pro-Am? Yes, you will, will be the correct answer (laughter). We'll starting the bidding at $5,000.
When we get to the Pro-Am, you'll learn what another winner of the BMW Championship says is true; when you amateurs get to play with Luke and his mates out on the Tour, for all of you amateurs, the best wood in the bag is the pencil. Luke knows from his amateur partners it's true. Where else do you yell fore, shoot an 8 and write down a 6?
Chris Koenders, who's been on in Montreal with Formula One BMW. I don't know if you saw The Today Show, but here is this magnificent Americas Cup yacht sailing those treacherous waters at Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan. Chris is director of brand communications for BMW.
Of course you have met the CEO and chairman of BMW North America, Tom Purvis, and our good friend Rich Peterson from the WGA.
I guess we can maybe start with Rich, just a few questions to the history of the WGA and now your excitement over the association with a brand that has such a winning record as BMW. First question to you.
RICH PETERSON: Well, I think that what's happening today is that our tournament is being raised two or three notches in terms of prestige. We are one of four tournaments in the Championship Series. In fact, we are the tournament directly preceding the TOUR Championship event, which all but guarantees that we will have an even stronger and deeper field of competitors than we've ever had from the PGA TOUR.
Secondly, we are partnered with BMW, an internationally recognized brand known for the quality and excellence in everything that they do, just as we are. And lastly, as I mentioned earlier, we will realize more funds for our scholars. With 820 young men and women in school, that's important to us.
So we're very excited about this. We think it maintains our tradition of being the preeminent presenter, conductor of tournaments at the amateur and professional level, and we're proud to be with BMW.
JIM KELLY: Whether it's a Formula One racing suit that's fireproof, a life preserver for the back of the boat for the BMW Oracle Challenge or a bad golf shirt, tell us about the Tour you've been on.
JAN-CHRISTIAAN KOENDERS: Well, packing was a challenge, and it's been a very dynamic Tour. Some of you were along with us. It came together very well this weekend, I have to say, because as it turned out, we had the Formula One Grand Prix in Montreal yesterday. We have the yacht laying in the Rockefeller Center, and of course this announcement that we're very excited from a global perspective about, as well.
Really what we're trying to do on this little Tour this weekend, what we wanted to demonstrate, is first of all, we choose top events to get involved in. Tom mentioned it, Formula One, top event, Americas Cup, top event. Here, also a new top event for us, and as a matter of fact, we've been involved in some top events in golf worldwide.
What we have as a philosophy to go about these events is we get involved in them personally. That is to say as a company, of course, meaning in Formula One we actually build the engine. We have been building the engine for some time for the teams, and we've got the V-8 engine running in BMW as our car itself right now.
In the Americas Cup we actually have five engineers here in San Francisco who are working on the structural rigidity of the boat. This is a knowledge we have for building cars; structural rigidity of cars is very important. So our engineers are personally involved in the development of the new ship that has been running actually this weekend in Valencia. And in golf we're a professional organizer of golf events; with the Asian Open and The International Open in Munich, we are the organizer for the PGA European Tour. So you see, we get involved in a very -- in a deep manner, and that's important for us to be involved in the sportsmanship of each of these topics.
Another thing that was interesting this weekend is we try to create unique opportunities in addition for our customers, for other people to meet us at these events, so I think at Rockefeller Plaza, that's pretty unique.
We had 41,000 visitors this weekend at the Pit Lane Park in Montreal. Pit Lane Park, a very unique concept where we brought the Formula One sport back to the fan. It's pit lanes that you can feel brakes, you can change wheels on a Formula One car, touch the real thing. So we always try to find really unique ways to share the experience with our prospects and customers.
JIM KELLY: Speaking of unique, the PGA TOUR's branding, whether it's the Nationwide Tour, the Champions Tour or the PGA TOUR with this BMW Championship has some unique brands and the chief marketing officer Tom Wade is here. In one of the Chicago papers it said that the Tour is abandoning Chicago. Would you care to respond to that, Mr. Wade?
TOM WADE: Thank you, Jim. First of all, I'd like to thank you for promoting me to CEO of the PGA TOUR (laughter). Before he promoted me, I was the CMO of the PGA TOUR.
We really don't look at it as abandoning Chicago. We look at it as really upgrading and bringing a top-level world-class event to Chicago. I think it's fair to say that the whole restructure of the PGA TOUR with the FedEx Cup competition culminating in the new PGA TOUR playoffs is the most important change we've ever made on the PGA TOUR. We have big, big expectations and big plans for this.
We could have done these playoff events anywhere. I think any city on our schedule would love to host one of the playoff events, but we were really looking for the best situation, the best partner. We have that, I think, with the Western Golf Association, and of course BMW. How could you have a more prestigious brand to try to -- that's so performance oriented, which is what the playoffs are all about.
But I think that with what's riding on this, and I think it's hard to even imagine the level of excitement and intensity. I think you'll see the same thing we see in our sports as we build all season to a very exciting and intense competition, and especially this particular event being the third event in the playoffs because this is the event that we go -- after this event we're going to cut to 30 players for the TOUR Championship, so of all the events, this is where the chips are really down and you perform and establish yourself at the top level or you're going home for the TOUR Championship.
Taking all that into consideration, plus the fact that we are working with our other partners in golf to continue to have a fairly steady stream of major championships such as the PGA Championship this year and of course the U.S. Open, I'm sure over the years we'll continue to come back, and the Ryder Cup, but we think that think Chicago is going to be a full plate of big golf tournaments and really much bigger golf tournaments in this case.
I would say, also, not to be overlooked, we will continue to have one of our best Nationwide Tour events, the LaSalle Bank Open, here. That's been an outstanding event. It's not as high profile just because of the nature of that Tour, but I think Luke would agree that the level of competition on that Tour is just right there just a shade below the PGA TOUR.
So to us this decision to partner with the Western Golf Association and BMW to bring really a very critical playoff event here is moving more of our sport into Chicago, not less. That's kind of the way we look at it.
JIM KELLY: I mentioned Luke Donald's two wins on the European Tour, one impressive victory on the PGA TOUR, of course -- twice now. Two wins there and a Ryder Cup appearance, and obviously the BMW involvement at the Ryder Cup this year over in Ireland. You played in the BMW Championship at the Wentworth Club and you play in all the BMW premium events. What separates the BMW events and makes them special from a golfer's perspective?
LUKE DONALD: Well, I always look forward to going to the BMW events. They just seem to be run that much better than a lot of the other events I play. Everything they do is with a lot of passion from a spectator's point. You walk into the gates, everything is very impressive, it just looks fabulous to be there. Even from a playing point, they choose good places to go throughout the world, and they do everything with excellence.
I feel very comfortable when I go to BMW events that I'm going to be well looked after, that they're going to put a great show on not just for the players but the public, as well. I'm always very happy when I leave.
JIM KELLY: Chris, put down your sailing cap for a second, put on your golf shirt and talk about the other events and why from a branding standpoint your team wants to make it special for Luke and the golfers.
JAN-CHRISTIAAN KOENDERS: We have some major commitments around the world. The oldest one that we have actually we started with golf in 1985 on an amateur level right in Munich. Very honestly there were some colleagues interested in golf, and they said this is a great way to get to know our customers, and that's the passion actually that's still in it. We have very much of a passion for the sport. A lot of our customers have a passion for the sport, as do we.
So we started with the BMW International Open right in our hometown of Munich, Bavaria. This has been running since 1989, and we had David Howell as the defending champion, and he's going to be playing -- there's a great playing field again for later this fall.
The next thing we got involved in was early on in Asia. We set up the BMW Asian Open. We actually first started in Taipei, Taiwan, then moved it to China. China is a very good market for us. We have a good position. We got involved early in this market, and also with the golf market, set up an absolute top event. I would say we're definitely in the top three events over there.
This year we had a great situation with a European rookie from Spain winning the event, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, so this was also a great situation. Since two years we've been involved in Wentworth, the players' tournament, and again, just had a great event with 80,000 spectators this May. Again, David Howell taking the title with him this year.
We're also very proud of the 100,000 amateurs playing golf with us in the BMW Amateur Golf International in approximately 80 countries, actually playing golf with us. It's the best way, that's what it's all about, and brings our passion for the sport to express.
This event here for us, a unique opportunity because at the end of the day, Asian Open, Wentworth, great position in Asia and Europe, but if you want to be something in golf, you've got to be in the States. That's why we're particularly excited to be part of this new arrangement.
We looked at it for quite a while, how could we come to the United States, and due to the changes with the new playoff series, for us this is a unique opportunity to get in in a unique way.
JIM KELLY: Let's bring it back from foreign shores back to the shores here of Lake Michigan, and specifically your organization, Western Golf Association. How do you and your group expect to benefit because of this premium association with BMW?
RICH PETERSON: We have such a great history of putting on golf tournaments. Dating back to 1899 both with the professional tournament, and our amateur tournament is the second oldest tournament in the country, and the Western Junior is the oldest junior amateur tournament in the country. The benefit to us is that our professional tournament is taking a whole new giant step forward in terms of prestige and importance to the competing tours as being part of the FedEx Championship Series.
We're able to take the tournament to our fans, not only in Chicago but throughout the Midwest. We have 35,000 people who contribute to the Par Club, which benefits the Evans Scholars Foundation. We have between 400 and 500 clubs who belong to the Western Golf Association, mostly in the Midwest. So we're able to take this tournament to a larger fan base and promote our program in those areas.
We benefit the Evans Scholars with additional funds into the coffer to help offset tuition, which anybody with youngsters in college understands is growing 8 to 10 percent. And we're partnered with a terrific title sponsor. That's a pretty good deal.
JIM KELLY: It's a win-win. Mr. Tom Purvis, what kind of enhancements will BMW bring to the championship, this long-running championship that now proudly bears the name The BMW Championship?
TOM PURVIS: I think you heard from Luke and Chris about our approach and what these events are like. I think the more important thing for us is there are other aspects of the involvement that we are exploring in order to ensure we maximize.
One of the interesting things we are involved in on a nationwide basis is trying to raise the awareness of the opportunities that exist in the retail motor trade, which requires a large number of new entries over the next two or three years. And in doing so, what we've realized that the retail industry does not have a fine reputation for careers. It has a good reputation for jobs.
The reality of it is that the retail motor industry, working at a BMW dealership, is actually very attractive. Many of these facilities are air-conditioned, the pay rates are very high. A technician or a salesperson at BMW dealership earns substantial sums of money, but they're not perceived as being career opportunities.
When you have the opportunity to expose that on a wider basis to press, to media, to parents and educators, they suddenly realize that this is a terrific opportunity, and through the linkage of our 358 nationwide retailers, our engineering center in California, our tactical center in Palo Alto, our plant in South Carolina and our regional offices in Los Angeles and Chicago and Atlanta and in the northeast, we believe we can give access to the Evans Scholars to experience through internships and work experience opportunities that they might not be aware of.
It may or may not suit them, but if they pass on the message to their friends and others of their age group, then we begin to also benefit from exposure in that direction.
So really there is an opportunity for us through that linkage, which I think is unique. It's up to us to make the most of it, and in doing that we give something back into the community, as well, which is very, very classically what BMW tries to do.
Yesterday I was in Montreal, as well, and Pit Lane Park there where people can actually go and lift the wheel of a Formula One racing car and they can lift the wheel of a normal road car and they can see the difference. One they can lift with one hand, the other they struggle to lift at all. You begin to see we get the technology over to a wider group of people. That's another area in which BMW I think is good. It's our job to expose the benefits of such an excellent championship as this to a wider audience of people here in Chicago and the Midwest generally.
We've got lots of ideas, lots of things to do, and we'll be making the very best of it. We're very proud to be associated with the WGA, with such great history and tradition. That's really important to the company. The Americas Cup, you're right, it's the oldest of all of those.
And just to sort of conclude, if I may, speaking originally a Scotsman, the interesting comment you made at the beginning about four guys and one died and the other three went on, do you know why the other three went on? Because they paid the green fee (laughter).
JIM KELLY: Thank you, Tom. Tom Wade, what exactly will it mean for the BMW Championship to be a part of the PGA TOUR playoff system as you head toward determining the FedEx Cup champion?
TOM WADE: Well, again, at the risk of being redundant, I think that what you're going to see is the PGA TOUR transition from a calendar year schedule of events to a real season, and a real season where players -- every shot means something and they're building toward a climax to crown a champion.
The playoffs will be the element that will make -- be the focal point and make the entire season more meaningful. So I think BMW being part of this, they're going to be at the top of golf. I spoke, and several of us have spoken before, about this particular event being in a real key position because it is the event where you have to play yourself by the conclusion of the BMW Championship to the Top 30 to be able to continue on to the TOUR Championship, the final event where the winner will be determined.
But to us, it's a perfect fit because it is definitely about performing at the highest level, and I think that's what the BMW brand stands for. This is a situation where we need to all work together, and we need a great organization like Western Golf Association and a great partner such as BMW to be able to put this tournament at the level that we intend to position it.
I think it's just in a very critical part of the playoffs which underpin the entire restructure of the PGA TOUR, and I think it's going to be a big deal and a more exciting sport.
JIM KELLY: Tom and Luke and Chris and Tom and Rich will all be available later on following brunch for one-on-ones and questions, but are there any questions from our invited guests and ladies and gentlemen that are here?

Q. Rich Peterson, a two-parter, you're talking a lot about brand identification. Today you've got a 107-year old brand name at the Western Open that it seems like you're abandoning; and second, you've got a 45-year history of playing annually in Chicago that you'll also be abandoning. What aside from a good deal of money that's going to come to the Western Scholars makes this worthwhile for the WGA?
RICH PETERSON: We're taking this tournament to a whole new level. In terms of prestige, as Tom Wade has already identified, this tournament is absolutely top on the list of every major competitor who will be playing at the professional level. So we have continued that tradition of running and conducting an outstanding tournament.
The second part of your question again?

Q. Leaving Chicago every other year.
RICH PETERSON: I would prefer to look at that as saying we are bringing to Chicago every other year an outstanding field, the strongest field that we have ever been able to bring to Chicago on a regular basis. We have had -- between 1899 and 1962 our tournament did rotate among cities around the country. We are taking it back to selected cities within the Midwest, where we have had strong Western Golf support for many years in terms of membership clubs and donors, contributors to our Evans Scholars Foundation.
We think this is a win for Chicago. We're bringing a better tournament to Chicago than we've ever been able to bring before, and we're able to expand it to other major metropolitan areas within the Midwest.
JIM KELLY: The better the field, the better the television ratings, and that all goes to more money for charity and the Evans Scholars.

Q. Tom, can you amplify a little bit more on the decision to move it around the Midwest? And also why that isn't that being considered in New York? I know you're talking about moving to different courses in New York. Obviously you have a major metropolitan area like Philadelphia, I think Pittsburgh is going to lose that tournament, and why Chicago was singled out?
TOM WADE: Well, let me answer your last question first. In fact, we are considering moving it around the New York area.

Q. But you're not moving it out of metro, not to Philadelphia or Pittsburgh or Washington?
TOM WADE: I don't think we've made that final decision, but currently we're thinking of keeping it in the New York area, but we are looking at moving it around to different venues.
I think the thing that drove the decision here, it certainly wasn't a desire to leave Chicago, it was the opportunity to -- again, with the opportunity to establish this tournament at this level, and to us that means having the best players compete head to head, it means having them play for a very significant championship, and it means having it on great golf courses.
When we had the opportunity to not only have Cog Hill, which is a very, very fine golf course, and especially with the kind of improvements that are planned for that golf course, I think it's going to be certainly very tough. To be able to add Belle Rive and a Crooked Stick and perhaps another prestigious facility at some point looking out, we just felt like the overall enhancement to the positioning of the tournament would really just help us achieve that objective.
There is a win for Chicago, it's just the overall thrust of establishing this tournament at the top end when it is here.
I think the other thing that's a bit of a factor is just capitalizing on the opportunity to have a variety of venues. Because this is going to be so important to the players, that to be able to provide some variety, so as you know, certain players play certain courses, and to be able to rotate that around and vary it a little bit, particularly in this event, where, again, we'll be cutting from over 100 players in the field to 30 players, I'd say that's a bit of a factor, as well.
But really, the opportunity to play really great golf courses, it's in a sense a comfortable fit because it returns to the original rotation of the Western Open, it ties in -- let's not forget the Evans Scholars is an important part of this, and supporting that, I think it is an opportunity to strengthen the support of the clubs that have been vital to that program, as well.

Q. This is for Rich. The fact that you're now going to be going in September so you'll be going up against the Pennant races going down the stretch, and also the NFL getting started, whereas now in the first week of July, you've got the city pretty much to itself, so is that a concern?
RICH PETERSON: We like the date in September. July 4th is a major family kind of a holiday, and I think by us moving into September, we will draw extremely well. Chicago is a great sports city. There is lots of room for the Bears, there's lots of room for the Cubs and the White Sox.
I like to prefer that they have to compete with us rather than we have to compete with them. We're going to do well because this tournament will be a premier tournament run with the same excellence and tradition that we have had over the years and that BMW has had through their history.
We're excited about the date and we're confident it's going to be well received.

Q. Luke, you said how much you enjoy coming here. Are you going to miss not going to Cog Hill every year?
LUKE DONALD: Of course I will miss not being here every year. For someone, wherever they live, if they have a home event, they feel like it's a better event for them because you don't have to go through the hotels, there's less travel, and it's generally easier.
But as Tom said, there will be many other tournaments, many major tournaments. We have Medinah this year again and the Ryder Cup is expected to be in 2012, I think, at Medinah, and a few other events that will hopefully make up for that.
Of course, anybody who lives at a place where there is a tournament, they love to play that week. Having it every other year is not as good as every year, but saying that, I think the Western Open is going to go from strength to strength, and hopefully that will work out well.
JIM KELLY: Tom and Luke and Chris and Tom and Rich will all be available for one-on-ones before we break for the brunch. We do have just a quick video we'd like you to take a look at that puts a bow on everything the panel has talked about this morning and also on BMW's triple-tiered sports marketing strategy.
(Video played).
JIM KELLY: Teamwork, tactics and technology, all words synonymous with winning and with BMW that you've seen here today. Whether I'm covering the PGA TOUR and talking to guys like Luke Donald or the Champions Tour with Tom Kite and your Western Golf Association Gallery of Champions here, Crenshaw, I generally like to ask the golfers, who has the biggest influence of their golfing life, and since we have some Evans Scholars winners here, I'd like to throw it back very quickly to Mr. Tom Purvis. If there's a young man or woman out there that would like to grow up and be successful as you have, kind of take us from when Luke was at Northwestern or an Evans Scholar winner and how they can succeed and what advice you'd pass along to those young men and women.
TOM PURVIS: Well, first of all, I think you continue to do what you've been doing so well because anyone who's a good caddie embodies all the good things about life, being prepared to grit your teeth, follow the ball around in all manner of directions, especially if you're caddying for someone like me, and keep your head down and get on with it and smile at the earned.
I actually never went to college or university. I did what was called an apprenticeship. What I discovered as I went through life is I learned as much by using my eyes and ears as I did by reading books. One of the things that I think all caddies do is use their eyes and ears really effectively, so you've got all the basic skills. Keep working hard, and I'm sure you'll have success.
For our part, this opportunity to be associated with the scholar program and mix into our interest in education and in safety, which we think are extremely important elements of what we do, and in relation to any young person moving forward today, what I'd say is don't forget the car industry. It's really vibrant on a worldwide basis and BMW is doing extremely well. Our sales are up 14 percent. We're having a record year worldwide and in the U.S., and that can be an interesting place to build a career.
But above all, keep the integrity that you've shown so far because that's what's really important in life.
JIM KELLY: We thank you all. We hope that you all enjoy the brunch. We got a break on the weather, and speaking of the weather, I think it was Jack Benny that said, "Give me a set of golf clubs, fresh air and a beautiful partner, and you can keep the golf clubs and the fresh air." Thank you all for being here.
(Applause).

End of FastScripts...

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PGA TOUR MEDIA CONFERENCE

June 26, 2006

Luke Donald

Jan-Chritiaan Koenders

Rich Peterson

Tom Purvis

Tom Wade