|
September 17, 2002
The PGA TOUR and Kinko's, Inc. today announced a multi-year agreement that makes Kinko's an official provider to the PGA
TOUR and SENIOR PGA TOUR and brings professional golf back to Austin.
Through the agreement, Kinko's becomes the "Official Document Services Provider of the PGA TOUR and SENIOR PGA TOUR." Kinko's
also becomes the title sponsor of a new SENIOR PGA TOUR tournament, the Kinko's Classic of Austin. The first Kinko's Classic
of Austin is scheduled for the week of May 5 - 11, 2003 at The Hills Country Club, marking the return of SENIOR TOUR golf
to the Austin area after nearly a decade.
The announcement was made today at a reception in Austin by PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem and Sue Parks, executive
vice president of operations for Kinko's. SENIOR PGA TOUR members Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite,both Austin residents, also participated
in the press conference.
"We are pleased to forge this new relationship with Kinko's and are excited to bring the SENIOR PGA TOUR back to Austin,
which has a great golfing tradition and played such a significant role in the SENIOR TOUR's development," Finchem said. "The
Hills is an ideal facility to welcome the SENIOR TOUR back to Austin. It's also exciting to bring the SENIOR PGA TOUR to the
hometown of five of our SENIOR TOUR members."
In addition to Crenshaw and Kite, SENIOR TOUR members Terry Dill, Tom Jenkins and Steve Veriato live in the Austin area.
"Our new relationship with the PGA TOUR and SENIOR PGA TOUR showcases how Kinko's outsourcing services meet the needs of
organizations with diverse and distributed document demands. This capability is particularly important for our corporate customers,
which include 370 of the Fortune 500 companies," Parks said. "In addition, our title sponsorship of the Kinko's Classic
of Austin gives us the opportunity to give back to the community by helping to raise funds for one of Austin's leading non-profit
charities."
About the Kinko's Classic of Austin The Kinko's Classic of Austin, a 54-hole individual stroke-play event that will
carry a purse of $1.6 million, will mark the SENIOR PGA TOUR's return to Austin since the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf moved
after the 1994 season. Considered the catalyst for the creation of the SENIOR TOUR, the Legends originated in Austin in 1978.
"Tom and I have a great allegiance to the SENIOR TOUR, but also to all the fellows that we grew up with," said Crenshaw,
who will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in November at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Fla. "Austin is
the place where the SENIOR TOUR began and we want to do everything we can do to make this tournament a success. It's an allegiance
that Tom and I feel to the TOUR."
"I'm excited to be going back to Austin," Kite said. "We've got a really good golf course, an excellent sponsor, a great
group running it and some wonderful charities involved."
The Kinko's Classic of Austin will be played on The Hills' Jack Nicklaus signature golf course that opened in 1981 and
will measure nearly 6,900 yards for the event. All three rounds of competition will be televised. Further details on the telecasts
are forthcoming.
"The SENIOR TOUR and its players look forward to returning to Austin in May," said Jeff Monday, senior vice president and
chief of operations for the SENIOR TOUR. "We thank Kinko's for its commitment to the SENIOR TOUR and are confident the Kinko's
Classic of Austin will be a fantastic event for the Austin community. We anticipate a great tournament and know the fans will
enjoy the competition and the many new fan-friendly initiatives they will experience at The Hills next spring."
The First Tee of Greater Austin has been selected as the host organization and primary beneficiary. An affiliate of the
World Golf Foundation's national First Tee initiative, TFTGA is a non-profit organization that uses golf to teach youth the
critical skills to succeed in life. Pro Links Sports has been hired as the management company for the tournament. Details
about the tournament office and staff will be announced at a later date.
More about the Marketing Relationship Beyond the on-site, broadcast and print exposure, as well as hospitality and pro-am
benefits that Kinko's will receive through the title sponsorship, the broader marketing relationship will provide further
advertising and promotional opportunities. The TOUR and its events will access Kinko's services for a variety of tournament
and administrative printing needs.
"Developing a marketing relationship with Kinko's was a natural extension of the title sponsorship agreement," said Tom
Wade, chief marketing officer of the PGA TOUR. "Considering the number of tournaments we conduct throughout the country, the
fact that Kinko's has locations in most of those communities, and the fact that the TOUR and our tournaments have a variety
of printing needs, this partnership makes good business sense for both parties."
About Kinko's Kinko's is the world's leading provider of document and business services. Its global network of more
than 20,000 team members and 1,100 digitally connected locations offers access to technology for color printing, finishing
and presentation services, Internet access, videoconferencing, outsourcing, facilities management, Web-based printing, and
document management services. Dallas-based Kinko's is a privately held corporation with locations in nine countries. For more
information, please visit www.kinkos.com. Products,services and hours vary
by location. About the PGA TOUR and SENIOR PGA TOUR The PGA TOUR is a tax-exempt membership organization of professional golfers.
Its primary purpose is to provide significant competitive and earnings opportunities for past, current and future members
of the PGA TOUR, SENIOR PGA TOUR and BUY.COM TOUR; to protect the integrity of the game; and to help grow the reach of the
game in the U.S. and around the world. More than 125 events are being contested on the three TOURs in 2002, for approximately
$260 million in prize money. In addition to providing competitive opportunities for its membership, TOUR events also generate
significant sums of money for charity. TOUR events have raised nearly $650 million for charity since 1938, the first year
such records were kept.
Operating under the umbrella of the PGA TOUR, the SENIOR PGA TOUR is a membership organization of professional golfers
age 50 and over. Since its inception in 1980 with just two events and purses totaling $250,000, the SENIOR PGA TOUR has grown
to 35 official events offering $57.9 million in prize money in 2002. Earlier this year, the SENIOR TOUR and its tournaments
surpassed $100 million in contributions to charity dating back to 1980.
|