Poor attendance, scheduling cause switch
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Unable to overcome poor attendance and bad scheduling in North Florida, the Senior PGA Tour announced Wednesday it is moving one of its signature events, the Legends of Golf, out of the state.
Beginning next year and continuing through 2006, the 25-year-old tournament largely credited with launching the Senior PGA Tour will be played at the Savannah Harbor Golf Resort and Spa in Savannah, Ga.
For the last four years, the tournament was played at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, a match the tour thought would be perfect because it put the best players in senior golf on the same grounds as the World Golf Hall of Fame.
But attendance lagged, in part because the Legends of Golf was always scheduled within a few weeks of the PGA Tour's The Players Championship, up the road in Ponte Vedra Beach.
After the last tournament in April, the senior tour renewed agreements with title sponsor Liberty Mutual and with ABC Sports through 2006, but also started looking for a new site.
"All the elements are in place for a great tournament and the future of the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf in Savannah is very bright,'' PGA commissioner Tim Finchem said.
Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press
