By ALAN SNEL
LVSportsBiz.com
LVSportsBiz.com photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell
You’re not going to be surprised by the business strategy behind the reinvigoration of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas: a bigger focus on the Shriners’ kids who receive free hospital care and new, bigger golf names at the PGA stop at TPC Summerlin, about 12 miles west of the Strip.
It’s the first year of a renewed three-year title sponsorship agreement with the Tampa-based non-profit Shriners Hospitals for Children and also the first year of a three-year deal between the tourney and the PGA Tour.
The Shriners spend millions of dollars every year on the golf tournament and use the exposure to draw attention — and hopefully, contributions — for the more than 20 hospitals that treat kids for free.
So this year, there’s more of a focus on the hospitals and the kids who receive the medical treatment. There’s a Shriner’s walk-through building that all fans will walk through to reach the golf course that shows kid standard bearer ambassadors and hospital scenes. There are 22 hospitals, including one in Mexico and one in Canada.
“We want to tell a better story of the hospitals,” said Patrick Lindsey, the tournament’s executive director.
The Shriners Open drew about 40,000 fans last year and Lindsey said there’s 75,000 tickets out there in the market this year. The cheapest ticket is a general admission day pass for $15, while suites range from $35,000 to $85,00 each.
Besides putting a brighter spotlight on the Shriners’ kids, the tourney recruited bigger PGA names to play the par-72, 7,243-yard course in Summerlin. There are 132 PGA pros vying for $7 million in prize money, with the winner getting $1.26 million. Patrick Cantley is the defending champ.
Jordan Spieth was a prize catch to compete this week, and Rickie Fowler is another big name with some star power at TPC Summerlin. Check out Fowler here answering questions from the golf media.
It’s Fowler’s fourth stop in Las Vegas and he made his pro debut here, and lived in Vegas for a year. On Wednesday, he mentioned Las Vegas is a fun place, but noted it’s a time of the year when some players are overseas in Asia, while others are seeking rest.
Fowler also caught a moment with Shriners patient ambassador Alec Cabacungan, an aspiring sportscaster who is featured in Shriners’ promotional videos. Here’s the duo here.
Even though Las Vegas has lots of celebrities, the tournament now in its 36th year wants to keep the kids and the players in the limelight. There are 40 teams of three local amateur golfers and each trio is partnered with a pro for Wednesday’s pro-am event. Each team of three amateurs pays $20,000-$21,000 to play golf with the pros, Lindsey said.
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The golf tourney is not looking to pay celebrities to help market the PGA Tour event after movie/music entertainer Justin Timberlake and the Shriners went their separate ways in 2012 following Timberlake’s promotional efforts for the tournament. The Shriners were disappointed that Timberlake didn’t get involved more with the hospitals and their patients.
Lindsey, the tournament director, didn’t think the event will be impacted by another big golf spectacle in Las Vegas this fall — the Tiger Woods-Phil Mickelson $9 million winner-take-all match on Nov. 23 when fans can pay 20 bucks for pay-per-view to watch the hyped event at Shadow Creek Golf Course. The event is closed to fans on the course.
LVSportsBiz.com asked PGA Rookie-of-the-Year Aaron Wise this week at TPC Summerlin what he thought about the match between Woods and Mickelson.
“It’s a cool thing for golf. Two legends of the game, the two best of our generation going head-to-head. I know Phil loves gambling; it’s right up his alley. I’m sure he’ll be ready to go.
“For it to be here is cool. A lot of people love to come here. Vegas is kind of a fun destination for a lot of people. I think it’ll be awesome. I don’t know why they didn’t do crowds. I think that could have been awesome. I think it may develop as they go on. I’m sure this isn’t the only match. They’ve talked about there being a few. They’ll learn as they go.
“But I think it’s awesome. Reminds me of when they did all those greats playing the skins game or something like that, a made-for-television match. I think those are the only two that can do it now because of how big they are,” Wise said. “It’s pretty cool to watch them joke around with each other and make some side bets.”
Spieth said he and his friends will be watching the Tiger-Phil match: “There is certainly an interest from us, yeah, especially knowing the both of them. Having them mic’d up and knowing them personally it’ll be kind of extra special.”
Even Cameron Champ was looking forward to it, noting it would be “hilarious” to have both Woods and Mickelson mic’d up for the one-on-one match.
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