A news conference scheduled for this afternoon with Jack Vickers, founder of The International, and PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem was abruptly canceled Wednesday, a maneuver that only added to mounting questions regarding the local professional golf tournament.
“We thought we would be having a press conference; however, it was determined with Mr. Vickers and Mr. Finchem that we should postpone it indefinitely,” Ty Votaw, an executive vice president with the tour, said Wednesday. Votaw did not explain why it was canceled.
Officials for The International did not return calls seeking comment.
The initial scheduling of the news conference, with the presence of Finchem, was thought to be a promising sign for an event that is struggling to maintain its place in the PGA Tour hierarchy.
The event’s new July dates this year are causing troubles securing Tiger Woods, whose first child is due this summer, and getting a number of international players, who likely will be in Europe preparing for the British Open.
This season is the first for the tour’s new FedExCup competition, with players vying all year for entry into a four-tournament, championship “playoff” in September. The International had the opportunity to host one of the four late-season events, but declined, feeling the tournament’s individual flavor would be lost amid the broad brush of the run to the championship. In addition, officials at Castle Pines Golf Club also wondered aloud about the prospects of the FedExCup finale going against the college and professional football seasons.
“I’m also pragmatic enough to know that in the United States in the fall, there are many more people interested in college and pro football,” Larry Thiel, The International’s tournament director, said in August during the 2006 tournament. “I wish the tour well, but to me, it’s a gamble I wouldn’t feel comfortable making.”
Instead of a year-end slot, The International, which wanted a change in dates to help attract Woods, chose to move to a July date normally played by the world’s No. 1. While the change offered initial promise in luring Woods to Colorado for the first time since 1999, it has since proven to be problematic.
If Woods’ baby is born between the U.S. and British Opens, a five-week span that includes The International, it’s likely Woods will take a break from playing.
Also, the July 5-8 date for The International means a number of international players – among them Castle Pines mainstays Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia and Jose Maria Olazabal – would face some severe travel issues. While the European Tour event in direct conflict with The International, the Smurfit Kappa European Open, doesn’t normally draw the biggest stars, it is just two weeks after one of that circuit’s most highly regarded tournaments, the BMW International Open. That would mean international players playing The International would have competed in the U.S. Open in Pennsylvania in mid-June, returned to Europe for the BMW, then Colorado and then back to Europe for the British Open three weeks later.
Addressing that daunting slate, Els said in the November 2006 issue of Golf Digest magazine, “I wish they hadn’t moved The International, one of my favorite tournaments, on the 2007 schedule. By putting it right before the British Open, it’s going to have to compete against the big European events and a lot of international guys are going to have to skip going to Denver.”
The inability to draw Woods and the large shadow cast by the FedExCup have also possibly led to another problem for The International: finding a title sponsor.The tournament did not have a title sponsor in 2006 but officials expressed optimism they were on their way to securing a sponsor for the 2007 event. However, that hasn’t happened.
Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com.
