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Ed Sherman says Barney Frank is stopping poor caddies from going to college.
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Last year, the BMW was in St. Louis while Cog Hill was being renovated. Thanks to big crowds from a town that was anxious to see pro golf, the WGA earned $3.3 million for the Evans Scholars, a program that awards scholarship money to caddies.
However, Mr. Kaczkowski is comparing this year's tournament to 2007 in terms of revenue. In 2007, the WGA netted $2.4 million for the Evans Scholars.
He projects this year's tournament will "hopefully net $2 million."
"We'll be substantially down," he said.
"The Frank Effect" has been telling, Mr. Kaczkowski said.
"Early on, we had companies say, 'Hey, we just don't have the money,' " Mr. Kaczkowksi said. "Then it went to, 'We can't risk being associated with the tournament' after Frank's statements."
However, Mr. Kaczkowski is comparing this year's tournament to 2007 in terms of revenue. In 2007, the WGA netted $2.4 million for the Evans Scholars.
He projects this year's tournament will "hopefully net $2 million."
"We'll be substantially down," he said.
"The Frank Effect" has been telling, Mr. Kaczkowski said.
"Early on, we had companies say, 'Hey, we just don't have the money,' " Mr. Kaczkowksi said. "Then it went to, 'We can't risk being associated with the tournament' after Frank's statements."
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In fact, several companies that remain on as sponsors won't be displaying their names. If you were observant, you actually saw it at the recent Solheim Cup at Rich Harvest Farms. There were signs that said "Villa No. 2." That was code for, "We don't want to advertise to Rep. Frank that we're out here."
You will see the same thing at Cog Hill.
The Wednesday Pro-Am, another huge moneymaker, also has been impacted. The WGA went from having a waiting list for slots (which go for $8,000) to actively selling the event. Again, it largely was due to the "Frank Effect."
"No. 1, they didn't want to be seen on the golf course," Mr. Kaczkowski said. "No. 2, they can't find customers who want to be seen on the course."
As a result of Mr. Frank's statements and the economy, the tournament had to make adjustments to try to offset the lost sponsorship revenue. A large marketing campaign had helped pre-tournament ticket sales jump 10% compared with 2007. If the weather cooperates, Mr. Kaczkowski said, the tournament should draw more than 150,000 people for the week, surpassing 2007.
But ticket sales only go so far. The loss of sponsorship money is a huge hole to fill.
The bottom line is that the Evans Scholars will have less cash to offer scholarships this year. Perhaps as many as 50 deserving students/caddies won't receive the opportunity to go to college.
You will see the same thing at Cog Hill.
The Wednesday Pro-Am, another huge moneymaker, also has been impacted. The WGA went from having a waiting list for slots (which go for $8,000) to actively selling the event. Again, it largely was due to the "Frank Effect."
"No. 1, they didn't want to be seen on the golf course," Mr. Kaczkowski said. "No. 2, they can't find customers who want to be seen on the course."
As a result of Mr. Frank's statements and the economy, the tournament had to make adjustments to try to offset the lost sponsorship revenue. A large marketing campaign had helped pre-tournament ticket sales jump 10% compared with 2007. If the weather cooperates, Mr. Kaczkowski said, the tournament should draw more than 150,000 people for the week, surpassing 2007.
But ticket sales only go so far. The loss of sponsorship money is a huge hole to fill.
The bottom line is that the Evans Scholars will have less cash to offer scholarships this year. Perhaps as many as 50 deserving students/caddies won't receive the opportunity to go to college.
The world needs ditch-diggers, too.
I remember the Evans Scholars house at UI. It was tremendously expensive and housed some tremendously un-scholarly people. This is all about getting a digg in at Barney Frank, which I'm cool with.
That. If I remember correctly, they actually had a huge new house going up about 4 or 5 years ago. On my list of people to feel sorry for at the moment, the Spaulding Smailses of the world are pretty far down there. Maybe they can auction off a couple of the gold bidets from that swanky new pad to make up for the lost scholarships.
I also don't think it's too ridiculous to assume that cost cutting measures put into effect by pretty much every company in this economy - including a decrease corporate sponsorships - might be a teeny tiny contributing factor (while obviously nowhere near as devastating as THE BARNEY FRANK EFFECT) to the WGA's problems.
This part three. Those Evans Scholars lived in a brand new, awesome house and had raging parties every weekend. I guess, if anything, it sucks that a few caddies won't get to take part in those shenanigans.
