Reno Tahoe Open

[Packalum04]

Scott McCarron will be the host and it now has a primary charity with a lot of cool events and promotional tools to help out the charity. I really hope this tourney stays around for a few more years.

Reno Tahoe Open (http://www.pgatour.com/2010/tournaments/r472/04/13/reno-host-charity/index.html)

[Packfan11]

It's going to be a rough go of it moving forward if it stays on this new week. It's going up against the Celebrity Golf tournament (locally), and the British Open (internationally). Before when it was up against the Bridgestone, the RTO would get players ranked 75+. The British field is double that. So technically the RTO will see players ranked 150+, or a player on his way down as the British will give an exemption to a player moving up.

[battle.borne]

It's going to be a rough go of it moving forward if it stays on this new week. It's going up against the Celebrity Golf tournament (locally), and the British Open (internationally). Before when it was up against the Bridgestone, the RTO would get players ranked 75+. The British field is double that. So technically the RTO will see players ranked 150+, or a player on his way down as the British will give an exemption to a player moving up.

I disagree. The PGA on the same weekend as the Celebrity Event is great for cross promotion. The RTO could draw casual spectators to their event, and vice versa. IRC, the British Open doesn't take the top 50 PGA money earners like the WTO, so I think the field could be improved overall.

[BustNChops]

Is it fair to say that it all comes down to money? On the news last week they said the PGA (I believe) was giving $500K to the tournament to increase the purse size. Does that mean the PGA wants this to be successful? Does that draw a few more golfers that were on the edge? I have no clue - just a few thoughts.

[Packfan11]

BB – don’t you think the product will be diminished since the British Open field is double from what the RTO had to compete with before? The British is more than double the purse and FedEx Cup points – wouldn’t you think if given the choice to compete in the British verses the RTO a pro would travel to St. Andrews? Also, the Bridgestone increased its field to 72-75 a number of years ago. The RTO has been competing against that for a while.

[battle.borne]

BB – don’t you think the product will be diminished since the British Open field is double from what the RTO had to compete with before? The British is more than double the purse and FedEx Cup points – wouldn’t you think if given the choice to compete in the British verses the RTO a pro would travel to St. Andrews? Also, the Bridgestone increased its field to 72-75 a number of years ago. The RTO has been competing against that for a while.

I don't know. The British Open field is comprised mostly of international players, mixed with the top 30 or so PGA players. I think the marginal players don't even bother to make the trip which could be good for the RTO. The trip to St Andrews probably isn't as appealing to the middle tier player who have to pay their own way, and who then have to play golf in a wind tunnel with 4ft high rough and waste bunkers which make PGA players look like duffers.

[Packalum04]

Here are the most significant way to qualify for the British Open:

* The top 50 on the Official World Golf Rankings. This key sweep up category means that no member of the current elite of world golf will be excluded.
* The top 30 in the previous season's PGA Tour money list and European Tour Race to Dubai (which replaced the Order of Merit starting in 2009). Most but not all of these players will also be in the World top 50.
* All previous Open Champions who will be age 60 or under on the final day of the tournament.
* All players who have won one of the other three majors in the previous five years.
* The top 10 from the previous year's Open Championship.

So the field will be much the same as it has been. Except I think the crowds will be smaller because of the Celebrity Tournament.

[battle.borne]

So the field will be much the same as it has been. Except I think the crowds will be smaller because of the Celebrity Tournament.

The tournament organizers seem to think the change is good for them. I hope they are right, and I tend to think they are. The last date coincided with Hot August Nights, which kept many locals from attending. I don't think the Celebrity Tourney will hurt them too much considering they gain an open week for locals to attend.

[Packalum04]

It is called false hope. Hot August Nights was at the same time but people could go to the tournament during the day then go to HAN in the evening. The Celebrity Tourney is played at the same time of day. IMO the average person is more likely to go to Tahoe and see the celebrities because society is so infatuated with celebrities these days. The average person doesn't know who 75% or more of the players are at the RTO. I hope I am completely wrong, but we will have to see.

[battle.borne]

It is called false hope. Hot August Nights was at the same time but people could go to the tournament during the day then go to HAN in the evening. The Celebrity Tourney is played at the same time of day. IMO the average person is more likely to go to Tahoe and see the celebrities because society is so infatuated with celebrities these days. The average person doesn't know who 75% or more of the players are at the RTO. I hope I am completely wrong, but we will have to see.

The PGA is pouring more money than ever into the tournament. I doubt they would do that if they felt their efforts were futile. The RTO needs to advertise better but I think this new date could benefit them if they cross promote with the Celebrity event.

[Packfan11]

Bottom line is this. The PGA forced the RTO's hand in moving the tournament adjacent to the British Open because they were unable to replace their sponsor when Legends did not renew. The Turning Stone Championship was moved from October to the RTO's date from last year because it does have a sponsor AND the purse is nearly double the RTO's. Essentially, the PGA wanted a viable tournament alternative (with sponsorship ties) for those not ranked #1 to #72 in money with the attraction of a large purse ($6 mil).

In hushed circles, it's said that the PGA put the RTO against the British Open because if it went away it wouldn't be noticed as much since the British will dominate golf that week. As a concession for moving the date up 2 weeks, the PGA kicked in $500k to add to the purse. The RTO's is the smallest winner purse on the tour ($550k) and even with the added kicker is still the lowest. While the RTO is struggling, the Turning Stone Championship is soaring ($1.1 mil winner purse). In 10 years the RTO has donated $1.8 mil to local charities. The Turning Stone has donated $750k in only 3 years!!!

At the end of the day, the RTO got the raw end of the stick when the PGA forced the issue of not having a sponsor and moved their date. It's do or die this year and being up against the British and the Celebrity is going to really hurt attendance.

On an aside - it's sad that the RTO's website still points to the Legends domain.........

http://www.legendsrenotahoeopen.com/about-rto/