The Conquistadores used to dispatch a crew of recruiters to the Bob Hope Classic and to the L.A. Open in an attempt to persuade some recognizable golfers to play in the Tucson Open. There would be the promise of a courtesy car and free or discounted lodging at Tucson National. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes Scott Simpson or Craig Stadler or another golfer who didn't have to identify himself would bite. One thing never changed: about 100,000 people -- sometimes 150,000 -- would gather at Tucson National and Starr Pass or venerable Randolph Park to watch a week of golf at the Tucson Open. You didn't even need a ticket. You could simply walk through loosely monitored entry areas because the Conquistadores had already sold so many corporate ticket packages and group sponsorships that the man-off-the-street ticket wasn't a priority. Total revenues for the Match Play championship dropped from a record estimate of $5.5million in 2007 -- Tucson's first year as host -- to about $4.3 million last year. Still, it buried previous yields when the event was held in La Costa, Calif. Revenues failed to surpass $1.5million in any of the WGC's seven years there. Predictably, sales are down here and everywhere on the PGA Tour. Tucson's contract with the PGA Tour expires next year. But unlike the old Tucson Open, which lost its exclusive date on the tour calendar in 1999, it's unlikely another city, another country or another sponsor will attempt to steal this event and move it. Being a sponsor (and a host city) on the PGA Tour is no longer about courtesy cars and free hotel rooms. It is about survival.

Changing times,,,,,,,,,,,,

Like I said................this will be a tough year for the tour.

Yes indeed,,,,,,,,,,

Good thing they have a big name sponsor...for now.

So did Memphis...................

But Tucson still has a big name player

Big name sponser , until they figure out who has been stealing what from whom.

Does the winner of a golf tournament really have to make a million and a half dollars a week ? Maybe we will discover a new era of grace and simplicity through our economic trials. The spirit of cooperation and frugality will blossom , as we get back to what made this country the best place to live in the world.................nahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!!!!

Could happen if they try it,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

A lot of it is tv money