"I just checked this data yesterday"

Tim Finchem spoke to the boycotting scribes assembled to watch Tiger's statement. We have a new member of the Finchem lexicon:

Q.  I do want to ask you a financial question because he left open the possibility of sitting out the full year since he didn't say exactly when he would be back.  Have you started to think about the financial implications of that for the TOUR?  You've talked in general about that, but specifically ad rates and things like that if he would sit out all four major tournaments this year.

COMMISSIONER FINCHEM:  Candidly there aren't any direct implications in the short‑term, and when I say short‑term, I mean in the next year or two.  I think that the real impactor on the PGA TOUR is a longer question as it relates to overall television ratings. 

Impactor!

As we've seen when he was out after his father's passing, when he was out with his injury in 2008, most of that season, the PGA TOUR ‑‑ as a matter of fact 2008 we had a record year financially both with respect to prize money and dollars to charity.  The PGA TOUR has not been negatively impacted in any significant way.

However, he does generate a significant increase in the overall interest in the sport, no question, and he does increase significantly the number of people that watch on television.  And that plays into our long‑term relationships with our television partners and the value of television rights.

Boy, that must have been painful to say.

Q.  Today he was obviously very insulated, but everyone said sooner or later that's not going to be the case when he does come back.  How difficult might it be for you to make sure that his escapades in the past are not the focus of the coverage and also to insulate him and I guess the TOUR?

COMMISSIONER FINCHEM:  Well, let me answer that in two parts.  One part is in terms of the insulation.  There's been a lot of discussion about the format today and his not taking questions from the press, and I think I should remind everyone that ‑‑ and I just checked this data yesterday, it's kind of interesting,

Oh yes, the Commish was on ASAPSports all day counting Tiger press conference transcripts, not letting the VP of TigerWatch handling this vital task...

he's played in 249 professional golf tournaments; he's had over 1,100 press conferences, visits to the pressroom, scrums out on the golf course during that period of time; he has done the Oprah Winfrey Show; he's done 60 Minutes.  So he has had a major interface with the media.  And when he returns to the game, that interface will continue.  So I think the concerns in that area should just be put on hold until he comes back.

Why do I think interface will be defined as "a scrum attended by credentialed media as selected by the Tiger Writers Association of America, a group dedicated covering the life of Tiger Woods free of GWAA boycotts"?

As for the timing, Finchem is sticking to the rehab-supersedes-sponsor-needs story. Excuse me, "in patient therapy."

COMMISSIONER FINCHEM:  Well, we have to do a lot of media discussion.  But not significantly.  Again, he's been out before.  I think the focus on the issues surrounding his leaving is a distraction to the game, there's no question about it.  Dealing with the fallout is a distraction.  There was no good time to do what's happened today without it distracting from what we're doing on the golf course in Mexico and certainly in the World Golf Championship event, the Accenture Match Play, this week.  So there are those things.

As for not taking questions today...

COMMISSIONER FINCHEM:  I think there's three pieces to that.  First of all, the format of not taking questions, everybody has an opinion on that, and we all want to see, particularly in this country, an individual in any circumstance be subjected to difficult scrutiny and questioning.

    And somebody asked me yesterday what we would have done.  We always try to make everybody happy.  That's what we do.  We want to cater to the media and make sure everybody is happy.

    But I think given the history of his involvement with the media, which is enormous, and the subject matter here, and where he is in dealing with his issues, and this being part obviously of the therapy that he's receiving, I didn't think it was inappropriate.  And candidly, I'll just be honest, personally, what else do we need to know at this point?

Well Tim, we've been told the tabloids and even the New York Times have been issuing false reports (that magically keeps turning out to be true), so shouldn't we address those false accusations?

The second part of your question is why here.  We were asked to provide our clubhouse as the site for this for several reasons:  One, he wanted to communicate with a number of individuals and organizations, including the PGA TOUR directly, so that was appropriate; secondly, he's a member of the PGA TOUR.  I can't imagine any player who's a member of our TOUR who asked for a press conference at any of our clubhouses around the country that we would say no to; and thirdly, I would just say that we had the logistical capability to assist to make this happen, and we were pleased to do it because we are dedicated all day long and want to be supportive to Tiger through this process.

Again, John Daly and Jim Thorpe, are you listening?

"We'll build enthusiasm and client and prospect interaction."

The PGA Tour convened a teleconference to announce the Fall Finish's new McGladrey Classic and asked Davis Love and Zach Johnson to join the Commish along with the CEO of the charmingly named RSM McGladrey. The highlights:

Tim Finchem:I think in terms of this new $4 million purse event, I'll just briefly say that we are very excited about it. We've been working on this concept for about, I don't know, a year and a half. It brings together obviously a quality title sponsor in RSM McGladrey led by a management team that really understands how to get value out of the business-to-business platform that's being generated here.

Haven't even hosted the event and they already get b-to-b platform generation? These guys are good.

By the way it doesn't need to be said again, but there's just a lot of value being created out of this partnership.

Davis Love...

We're excited to work with McGladrey and really excited to work even closer with Zach, our newest neighbor. He lives about four or five houses down from Mark, so Mark can go down and get advice from him any time. I think Zach wants to make a few comments, and I'm hopefully going to go snowboarding here pretty soon. I'm in the middle of nowhere in Canada. I apologize for the snowmobile that just went by a few minutes ago.

There's something you don't read every day in a transcript.

Now, questions from the Communist subversives.

Q. Commissioner, I have to break off the road here and ask, there's obviously a loophole in the new grooves restrictions. Is taking advantage of that loophole an insult to the honor of golf? Is something going to have to be changed on that?

COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: By loophole, you're referring to the Ping i2 pre-1990 golf club?

Q. Yes.

COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: It is a bit of a loophole, but last year we looked carefully at this, and our experts did not view this distinction of any significance. So rather than part ways with the USGA in terms of what they would have to do at the U.S. Open, at that time we elected to stay the course. We just the other day reviewed the data again. We just don't see any competitive advantage, any material competitive advantage to a player by going back and getting a club that was made pre-1990.

But we'll continue to evaluate it. But at this point in time, no, we don't see any erosion of competitive balance because of that particular situation.

Okay, that puts that to rest.

Q. There's a suggestion that is being advocated by people in America, by sponsors and people associated with sponsors that perhaps the PGA TOUR should, and I'm quoting here, temporarily do away with conflicting event releases that grant permission to TOUR members to play overseas, and with some of your TOUR members playing in Abu Dhabi this week, I'm wondering whether you think that suggestion is likely to fly.
 
COMMISSIONER TIM FINCHEM: Well, I'm not much aware of a groundswell on that issue.

That's because you're not in La Quinta this week.

The conflicting event releases we feel we've had in place now for 15, 20 years seem to be fine. You have the odd occasion where it raises a question, but on balance, we do not have a very significant of players at all seeking conflicting event releases.

It's something we look at all the time. We look at it annually. We evaluate when we get a good number in any particular week. But at this time I don't see any change to the guidelines, but it's something we'll continue to keep under consideration.

Translation: it's somewhere on Tim's whiteboard to-do list between return Doug Barron's call and buy the new George Lopez live CD.

So that's the real world. We just had Tiger out for eight months in '08, and we had our all-time record charity year at $125 million. Everybody just needs to keep it in balance. We want our No. 1 player back. I think he's going to be huge when he comes back. But he's doing the right thing right now in dealing with his issues as he said he wanted to.

A lot of people read those words and thought Finchem meant he is praising Tiger for entering sex rehab. I'm not quite so sure.

And for today's MBAisms:

C.E. ANDREWS: Let me just comment, from our standpoint, this is all part of a much bigger -- it's a component of our overall marketing and branding direction in what we do, and we've been doing it for some time, and this is an evolution of that. I think for us, as Tim said, our research tells us that our clients, the sea-suite-type clients and prospects, that this is the best venue -- golf is the best sport for us to align with, and not just best sport, but if you really want to reach that audience, more of them participate in this in some fashion, either playing, watching, whatever, than any other sport or any other activity that we could find. So it matches up so well with the audiences that we're trying to reach, first of all.

I'm guessing that's C-suite-type clients. Though sea-suite has a nice ring to it too. But isn't it redundant to say a C-lister has a suite? I mean, isn't that a given? Or are there C-levelers and then C-suite-levelers?

Secondly, we have -- this is one component of a much bigger package of things as we mentioned. Of course Zach is a member of our Team McGladrey. We have three excellent golfers that we sponsor, and they're great ambassadors for us, so that works for us year-round.

We like the package of this particular tournament. We're going to be able to include throughout the year things that we'll do in our offices around the country, at other TPC courses and things. We'll build enthusiasm and client and prospect interaction.

That scribbling sound you heard in the background was the Commish writing down "client and prospect interaction."

"It's a way of cross generation to introduce current and future members of the LPGA to a very important part of the world."

LPGA Brand Lady Carolyn Bivens is interviewed by the "Toy Department" blog at the Baltimore Sun site. Some nice MBAisms for those of you collecting jargon at home.

Bivens: The fact that a sports league or association would own one of its own championships and be able to illustrate and display their best of class of their brand, to set the eligibilty criteria and own all the revenue streams for that event is huge. Yes, it is high risk and high reward, but the opportunities for that to make a difference from a brand standpoint ... over the next 50 years is very big.

And...

How many years into the future are you looking? You talk about a focus of five to seven years, but you also talk about 50 years. Where, as an executive, is your focal point?

Bivens: For the long term, dealing with the base of the platform, you look out 10 years. Most of the rest of the planning you do for five years out.

Isn't that redundant, the base of the platform? Or is there a layer I don't know about?

So your deal with J Golf, South Korean television, that's looking 10 years out, maybe more?

Bivens: The deal is a five-year deal and the big news about that ... is that it's multi-platform. It's not just cable television rights for South Korea. They own multiple magazines, they have a partnership deal with CNN, they have multiple digital platforms. It's a way of cross generation to introduce current and future members of the LPGA to a very important part of the world.

Cross generation! That's a new one for me. Anyone care to define?

Safe To Say: "Value Proposition" A Must On Any MBA-Speak Bingo Board

Here I was just getting comfortable with value modulations when I come to learn it all comes down to value propositions.

Randell Mell reports that ADT actually might have liked to have stayed on as the sponsor of a year-end, must see, ultra cool event on the LPGA Tour. But the LPGA's increased asking price is the real culprit.

I think the countdown clock just started ticking for the Brand Lady.

Tour pros were informed by the LPGA one month ago that ADT chose not to renew because the company was pursuing different marketing objectives.

"The explanation ADT gave us for not renewing was that its marketing objectives and means of going about attracting customers was changing and the ADT Championship didn't fit into its future plans," said Mike Nichols, LPGA vice president of tournament business affairs.

ADT President John Koch said there was more to the decision.

"Basically, the change in the renewal pricing caused us to re-evaluate the value proposition of the overall program," Koch said. "You will hear various takes on that, but it is inaccurate for anyone to state that our decision was based on any form of cost cutting by our company. In fact, we have increased our marketing budget."

The LPGA made various proposals to ADT, including making ADT the umbrella sponsor of a series of LPGA events. The proposal the LPGA favored most was moving the event to the start of the 2010 season, where it would no longer compete against football and would be more appealing to TV as part of a potential package that the LPGA could sell to networks.

While ADT officials expressed concern about altering the nature of the event with a big payoff at season's start, Koch said it wasn't an overriding factor in his company's decision not to renew.

Koch would not reveal what ADT paid for its title sponsorship in the latest two-year contract extension that ends this year, but industry insiders estimate the company paid $3 million per year. While Koch also would not divulge the LPGA's asking prices, an industry expert said the tour was asking a substantial increase, prices beyond what adding weekend network TV coverage would require.

Koch said his company enjoyed a "great relationship" with the LPGA, a "good dialogue" and carefully considered all the LPGA's proposals, but ultimately decided not to accept.

"At the end of the day, there wasn't any reason other than value proposition," Koch said. "They have the right to think what the value of their tournament is. We respect them for that."

But just think, they won't have to compete with football now! Oh wait, there's no sponsor. Or course. Or date set.

Why take an established attention-getter--albeit one in November running up against the NFL--and exchange that with a year-starting $1 million event (?!?) that might happen?

And even the master negotiator himself isn't expressing much admiration for the Commissioner's work.

Donald Trump, who has been an unofficial host of the event for its entire eight-year run as owner of Trump International, was disappointed the LPGA didn't make ADT a better offer.

"Outside the U.S. Open, this has been the most important event on the ladies' tour," Trump said. "It is sad it has to end, and perhaps the tour should have made some concessions."

Perhaps? Who said The Donald isn't a kind soul?

And this from Juli Inkster:

"ADT and their people have been nothing but very supportive of the LPGA Tour and its players," said Hall of Famer Juli Inkster, a member of the LPGA's Board of Directors once sponsored by ADT. "They've done so much for us, and I was just very disappointed to hear we were losing them.

"But I don't want to point fingers. I don't know the ins and outs of what happened or what went wrong, but something went wrong. If it didn't, we would still have ADT as a sponsor. Hopefully the tour knows what it's doing and this will work out for the best."

And if they don't?

But back to value propositions. Larry Dorman takes a look at all sectors of the golf industry and frankly, I came away less bummed out than I thought I might based on his talks with various retailers. Of course, the PGA Tour's $5 million man stayed on message...nearly verbatim to previous statements. Though this value proposition business has thrown me for a loop.

Finchem runs the organization of players that many golfers aspire to become, or at least to emulate. As such, he knows the importance of sustaining what he calls the PGA Tour’s “value proposition.” That, he said, is the formula for success that includes “the demographic of decision makers that we reach, the quality of the branding we deliver, the quality of our TV platform, the business-to-business opportunities, and our long-term relationships with our customers.”

"You're targeting an affluent crowd, a computerized crowd."

This isn't golf related, but you know how I just love to share MBAspeak at its finest.

From Dylan Hernandez in today's L.A. Times, writing about the Dodgers latest ticket promotion to bump up their attendance numbers:

Steve Shiffman, the Dodgers' vice president of ticket sales, said the method of distributing tickets wouldn't attract the kind of fans who misbehaved and prompted the cancellation of the once-popular promotion that included $2 right-field pavilion seats on Tuesday nights.

Because this promotion is Internet-based, Shiffman said, "You're targeting an affluent crowd, a computerized crowd."

Does that you make you feel good? You're reading this on a computer and therefore you are affluent!

I knew it would brighten your day.

"Just as invested in seeing her brand succeed as we are."

The Seattle Times business staff reports on Annika re-signing with Cutter and Buck, talking to Cutter's Ernie Johnson.

News this past week that the 37-year-old Sorenstam plans to retire when the season's LPGA Tour ends was not a shock to Johnson.

"We've known for sometime that starting a family was in her plans, so this didn't come as a surprise to us," he says. "We're very happy for her."

Under a multiyear contract signed in 2003, Sorenstam gets quarterly royalty checks based on sales of the Annika collection, Johnson says. In exchange, Cutter & Buck gets to use her name and image — and the exposure that goes with her appearances.

Sorenstam is "just as invested in seeing her brand succeed as we are," says Cutter & Buck spokeswoman Meghan Graves. Sales grew in double digits this past year, she says.

Isn't it touching to see a major brand putting someone else's brand above their own? Who says corporations don't have hearts?

"It is a tribute to the incredible bench strength of our executive team that we can quickly assign responsibilities when opportunities for change are created."

Wednesday was VP promotion day in Ponte Vedra. Let's see who can't ride on the same Falcon as Tim Finchem any longer. (You know, protecting that line of succession stuff should, God forbid...).

The PGA TOUR Announces Executive Appointments

April 23, 2008(Ponte Vedra Beach, FL) — The PGA TOUR announced today that Ron Cross, Executive Director of THE PLAYERS Championship, has accepted a position as Director of Corporate Affairs for Augusta National Golf Club.

Take that Cliff Roberts!

“Ron Cross has significantly impacted each of the areas he has worked in at the PGA TOUR over the past 19 years,” said Tim Finchem, PGA TOUR Commissioner. “His contributions have helped the PGA TOUR immensely. He served at a time of great momentum and growth for the tournament. We are delighted this opportunity has been presented to Ron and although we will miss his leadership role with THE PLAYERS, we wish him well in his new position with Augusta National.”

And we really hope he can get us on the course from time to time.

The PGA TOUR further announced that Henry Hughes has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of THE PLAYERS Championship, where he will continue to report to the Office of the Commissioner.  Hughes’ responsibilities will include long-term positioning for the event, as well as chairing the search committee to select Cross’ replacement.

Boy, that sounds fun. By the way, I thought we were lower case on The and all caps on Players. Did I miss a press release?

“Henry and I have been discussing a succession plan for the PGA TOUR for some time,” said Commissioner Finchem. “With Ron Cross’ departure we saw an opportunity to execute an effective change in the management of THE PLAYERS and maintain Henry’s key position as a member of the Executive Committee.

Henry will focus on the development of a management strategy to ensure the continued growth of the event. For 25 years, Henry’s leadership and vision have made an indelible mark in every department he has led.  He is held in the highest regard by everyone in the golf industry, especially the players, the tournaments and the sponsors. His appointment as CEO indicates the significant magnitude we place on the future of THE PLAYERS and the role we have asked him to take on with the event.”

Well, I think we need to hear from Henry about how thrilled he is with this uh, C-level restructuring.

“It’s been thrilling for me to witness the significant growth and expansion of THE PLAYERS Championship over the course of my career,” said Hughes. “I look forward to providing the leadership and strategic development of the TOUR’s flagship championship.”

And now, drum roll please, who has just moved into chair No. 2 where he can dream of someday raking in the millions as Commish?

With the appointment of Hughes as CEO of THE PLAYERS, Rick George, currently serving as President of the Champions Tour and Executive Vice President Championship Management, will move into the PGA TOUR Chief of Operations position, formerly occupied by Hughes. With George’s move to the PGA TOUR, Mike Stevens has been promoted to President of the Champions Tour. David Pillsbury, currently serving as President, PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties, will expand his operational oversight leading the Championship Management team.

Two of my favorite corporatespeak specialists will have even more opportunities to humor us. All in all, a good day for the blogosphere. Especially with sports -metaphor laced gibberish like this:

“It is a tribute to the incredible bench strength of our executive team that we can quickly assign responsibilities when opportunities for change are created,” said Finchem.

Wow, that was special. Sorry, continue.

“I want to commend Rick George on the exceptional job he did elevating and growing the stature of the Champions Tour as well as the leadership he provided to Championship Management. He brings an array of talents and experience to his new role with the PGA TOUR. The work Rick and Mike Stevens have done together on the Champions Tour will result in a seamless transition. David has performed admirably as the President of Golf Course Properties, strategically repositioning the operations of the PGA TOUR’s Tournament Players Clubs and overseeing the complete renovation of the TPC Sawgrass facilities. David brings with him a creative vision, marketing and operational expertise that will propel Championship Management events to new heights.”

These appointments are effective June 1.

Got all that? 

"Our brand equity has solid footing."

Michael Garten is out as the executive director of the WGC Match Play and Greg Hansen explains the factors that led to a change.

A tepid Southern Arizona economy took a bite out of Match Play's second season. Ticket sales were off by about 8,000 from the 2007 inaugural event. That's roughly $1 million in revenue shortfall. In addition, corporate sales didn't match '07 totals. That should have been predictable and unavoidable.

Moreover, the novelty had faded. Many potential ticket buyers were scared off by reports that The Gallery Golf Club's hilly South Course was decidedly not friendly to spectators. Unlike 2007, this year's tournament was not a five-day sellout.

Some first-year sponsors, such as now-defunct First Magnus, which spent about $100,000 as a Match Play booster, didn't return. The six-figure financial involvement of home-building giant KB Home also diminished greatly. And so on.

The irony is that interest in the WGC event has skyrocketed since it moved from La Costa, Calif., where it was staged for seven years, some of them with fewer than 3,000 fans on the course. This year's TV ratings established records for the Golf Channel (the Tiger Woods factor).

"The event really found a new life in the Southern Arizona market," said Garten. "Our brand equity has solid footing. The future is promising."

I'm wondering, who actually decides when you have brand equity? Is it the brand equity fairy? The Grand Master of brand equity?