According to a report in far-left Golfweek, “AT&T has asked out of its sponsorship of the AT&T Byron Nelson after this year.”
A source tells Pro Golf Weekly that AT&T’s exit had been in the works for months but escalated this week after seeing the final field at TPC Craig Ranch.
“If you’re AT&T are you really going to put up a nearly $10 million purse for what looks like an opposite-field event?” said the source. “There is just a single player ranked inside the top 10 and only two inside the top 20.
“Bottomline, the title sponsors of non-elevated events are recognizing that they’ve been relegated to the minor leagues on Jay Monahan’s tour.”
AT&T has titled the Nelson since 2015, replacing Hewlett Packard (HP). Before that it was the title sponsor of the AT&T National at Congressional, hosted by Tiger Woods (2007-13).
This is the second longtime PGA Tour title sponsor that has quit after the introduction of the elevated events. Honda ended its relationship earlier this year.
