[PHOTO: Orlando Ramirez]
Shriners Children’s Hospital is ending its sponsorship of the PGA Tour’s Las Vegas event, Golf Digest has learned. The Las Vegas Review Journal was the first to report.
Shriners had been the title endorser for the tour stop at TPC Summerlin since 2007, making it one of the tour’s longest sponsors.
“We have enjoyed a tremendous 18 years as the host and title sponsor of the Shriners Children’s Open,” said Bob Roller, vice-president of sports at Shriners. “The opportunity to tell our incredible stories of the more than 1.6 million children that have received care from Shriners was, and always is, our primary goal.
“The PGA Tour has been a tremendous partner along the way, and we thank them and the entire Las Vegas/Summerlin community.”
The Shriners Children’s Open has been part of the tour schedule since 1983, and was the site of Tiger Woods’ first professional win in 1996. The 2024 edition of the tournament was held last week, when J.T. Poston captured his third PGA Tour victory. However, the PGA Tour moved to a revamped “Fall” schedule last year from its previous wrap-around approach. Though a number of stars would play just a handful of times, if it all, in past autumns, this time of year is now primarily for players who failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs that are attempting to retain or regain their playing status for the next year.
It is unclear what the Shriners decision means for the future of the PGA Tour in Las Vegas. The tour has already announced the 2025 PGA Tour schedule, although the autumn portion has not been publicly released.
