Seniors Golf Is Out at Hilton Head; Insufficient Corporate Sponsorship

The Seniors International Golf Championship will not be held on Hilton Head this fall because sufficient corporate sponsorship was not found, officials of the corporation that operates the tournament said.

“We regret that there will be no seniors event here this year,” said Joe Fraser, chairman of the Heritage Classic Corporation. “The event was good for the island. However, our trustees recognize the difficulties a non-profit organization incurs when attempting to operate a professional tournament without corporate sponsorship.”

The Heritage Classic Corporation, which also operates the Heritage Classic PGA tournament, is a non-profit organization.

Seniors International officials had been actively pursuing corporate sponsorship, but was not able to line up enough support to get the tournament placed on this year’s schedule.

Tournament Director Mike Stevens was notified by PGA Tour official Steve Rankin that the tournament could not be placed on the 1988 schedule.

“We are all disappointed to lose the Hilton Head event this year, but we all know how difficult it is to conduct a top-flight professional event in this day and age without a title sponsor,” Rankin said.

Rankins said that should circumstances change regarding the sponsorship status of the seniors event, the PGA tour would offer the tournament a new event proposal.