Latest news with #FirHills
USA Today
19-02-2025
- Business
- USA Today
LPGA's South Korean broadcasting partner failed to pay for 2024 and 2025 seasons
LPGA's South Korean broadcasting partner failed to pay for 2024 and 2025 seasons The LPGA's issues with its South Korean media rights partner didn't end with a lost event. In addition to the unpaid bills that canceled the upcoming Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship, JTBC also failed to pay for broadcasting all LPGA events in 2024 and 2025. Golfweek obtained a memo sent out to LPGA players by interim commissioner Liz Moore that outlined further details, including that JTBC had not "engaged meaningfully or provided assurance of payment." "To protect our interests, we are filing a complaint to enforce a guarantee agreement with a JTBC affiliate to recover the unpaid amounts," Moore wrote in a memo sent to players on Feb. 18. "For now, we are not terminating our agreements and will continue honoring our obligations to avoid disruptions in tournament coverage in Korea. However, if JTBC fails to meet its broadcast commitments, we are prepared to implement alternative solutions." With the LPGA's contract with JTBC expiring at year-end, the tour has already gone to market to explore new options. In January, the tour canceled the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship, scheduled for March 20-23, in Palos Verdes Estates, California, after it said an unnamed underwriter failed to pay its bills for the 2024 and 2025 events. Golfweek later confirmed JTBC as the underwriter. JTBC's media rights deal with the LPGA dates back to the Carolyn Bivens era as commissioner, which officially went into effect in 2010, when Mike Whan was in charge. The original deal, outlined in an LPGA press release in 2009, included JTBC underwriting an event on the LPGA in Southern California as well as title sponsoring the 2009 Phoenix LPGA International. The JTBC media rights deal is unusual in that the LPGA gets a sum of money and a set number of events, and then in turn, JTBC can recoup some of that money by selling the benefits of the event to a third party at its discretion. The JTBC name has been attached to a number of tournaments over the years, such as the Hugel-JTBC LA Open, which later became the Hugel-Air Premia LA Open. From 2014 to 2016, the tour held the JTBC Founders Cup in Phoenix. Sometimes JTBC would appear in the title, and sometimes, as in the case of Fir Hills, it wouldn't. The LPGA would then use JTBC's media rights money for its general operating budget. This year's Fir Hills event, won by No. 1 Nelly Korda in 2024, was scheduled to be held at Palos Verdes Golf Club and feature a $2 million purse. The total cost of title-sponsoring the event, however, would've exceeded the value of the purse, likely around $3 million. South Korean media rights have long been essential to the tour's health, though with top players coming from a number of different countries, the tour's media rights portfolio is now more diverse. Late last year, Golfweek reported that LPGA was slated to lose around $2 million in 2024. That number could rise considerably in 2025.
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
LPGA removes tournament from schedule due to failed payments
The LPGA will begin its season next week with one fewer tournament on the schedule. The LPGA announced Friday that the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship, previously scheduled for March 20-23 at Palos Verdes Golf Club southwest of Los Angeles, will not be held as originally planned. The cancellation, according to the LPGA, was 'unavoidable due to the event underwriter failing to fulfill any portion of its payment obligations to the LPGA Tour for the 2024 and 2025 events.' The tournament, won last year by Nelly Korda, debuted in 2018 as the Hugel-JTBC LA Open, but title sponsorship was taken over last year by Fir Hills, a Silicon Valley-based investment firm, with World Golf Hall of Famer Seri Pak serving as tournament host. The LPGA did not rule out re-adding the tournament to its schedule at a later date. 'We are deeply disappointed to announce this year's Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship will not go forward in March,' said Liz Moore, the LPGA's interim commissioner. 'We apologize for the impact this has on our players, as well as on our fans, partners and volunteers. We also want to express our heartfelt gratitude to the staff and members at Palos Verdes Golf Club, Palos Verdes Estates, and tournament operator, Outlyr, for their exceptional partnership and hospitality. It is our intention to return to Palos Verdes in the future to host title sponsor, Fir Hills, once again alongside these great partners. We remain dedicated to bringing this event back to our schedule to honor the incredible legacy of Seri Pak, who has been a wonderful ambassador for the game and this event.' This cancellation particularly affects LPGA members who aren't qualified for the winners-only Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, which starts next Thursday, and three limited-field events in Asia beginning in late February. There are just three full-field tournaments before the season's first major, the April 24-27 Chevron Championship.
