The PGA Tour announced today that Charles Schwab & Co. will become the new title sponsor of the annual stop at Colonial Country Club.
The Fort Worth tournament has been contested at Colonial since 1946, holding the distinction as the longest-running event at the same venue.
“We are honored to support one of the country’s premier and longest-running PGA Tour events that is a showcase for the game’s best players and is a TOUR leader in charitable giving,” said Jonathan Craig, Senior VP of Charles Schwab in a press release.
“Schwab has a long history of investing in the communities in which we live and serve our clients and with our growing presence in, and commitment to the state of Texas, we could not be more delighted to support the tradition of this tournament.”
Schwab & Co., which is the title sponsor of the season-long points race on the Champions Tour, will take over starting in 2019 with a preliminary four-year agreement running through 2022.
“We are thrilled that Charles Schwab will become the new title sponsor of this historic tournament, which has such great tradition and strong ties to the late golf legend Ben Hogan dating to 1946,” said Andy Pazder of the PGA Tour.
“Considering Charles Schwab’s longstanding marketing relationship with the PGA Tour and its impact as a sponsor on PGA TOUR Champions, we know it will be an equally fruitful relationship here at Colonial Country Club.”
Colonial found itself in a bind when the gourmet grocery chain Dean & Deluca backed out of its sponsorship deal after only two years into a six-year contract.
According to the press release, companies such as American Airlines, AT&T, XTO Energy and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railway are jointly backing the tournament this year, which is being played as the Fort Worth Invitational.
The new tournament name, logo and 2019 dates will be announced in the coming weeks.
Credit: PGA Tour Media, Getty Images (View of the 9th hole at Colonial)
