Auto Company is New Tournament Sponsor
The Century Club announced Tuesday that the Buick Motor Division of General Motors will replace Shearson Lehman Brothers as the title sponsor for the PGA tour stop at Torrey Pines Golf Course.
Formerly the Shearson Lehman Brothers Open, the tournament will be called The Buick Invitational of California. It will be played Feb. 17-23, one week later than last year. But the tournament will continue to be the seventh stop on the PGA Tour.
Buick also sponsors the Buick Classic in Harrison, N.Y., the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Mich., and the Buick Southern Open in Columbus, Ga.
The Century Club, the local non-profit organizing body of the tournament, said Buick has signed a three-year contract to sponsor the tournament, with options for more years.
“When Shearson backed out, we went to Buick right away,” said Tom Morgan, Century Club’s executive director and the tournament’s director for eight years. “We think Buick will help us attract some players that didn’t previously have an allegiance to this tournament before.”
Buick becomes the event’s fourth corporate sponsor. Wickes Furniture sponsored the event in 1981 and 1982, Isuzu from 1983 to 1985 and Shearson Lehman Brothers from 1985 to 1991.
Morgan said the Century Club’s primary charity will continue to be junior golf in San Diego. NBC will televise the event, which carries a $1 million purse, with the winner collecting $180,000 and a 1992 automobile.
