"We will have a statement after the tournament."

Jeff Shain looks at the likelihood of Doral losing CA as its sponsor and the Tour having to find someone willing to put up the, gulp, $12 million or so necessary to sponsor a WGC event.

Without someone to pony up the approximately $12 million price tag each year, Doral could get stripped of its WGC status. One pessimistic view suggests the Blue Monster could fall off the schedule altogether. PGA Tour brass, however, rejects that scenario.

"I'm confident there will be a PGA Tour event here," tournament boss Eddie Carbone said at last month's CA media day.

Ty Votaw, the tour's executive vice president, was quick to stress that CA can't be counted out yet. He said the two sides will sit down after the event to discuss an extension to their four-year deal.

However, CA communications chief Bill Hughes didn't leave much room for optimism. "We will have a statement after the tournament," he said.

Well at least he didn't say they were looking to spend more time with the families.