HARTFORD, Conn. -- The PGA Tour event in Hartford was brought back to life Tuesday with a new title sponsor and a spot on the FedEx Cup portion of the schedule starting in 2007.
The Hartford tournament, which began in 1952, was not included in the main segment of the PGA Tour's new schedule and was either going to be cast into the secondary "Fall Series" of events or transformed into a Champions Tour event.
It got a reprieve, however, when 84 Lumber decided not to continue sponsorship of its tour event in western Pennsylvania. That allowed Hartford and its new title sponsor -- St. Paul Travelers -- to fill the summer vacancy.
The St. Paul Travelers Championship will be played June 21-24 next year on the TPC at River Highlands, one week after the U.S.
Open.
"St. Paul Travelers shared our goal of keeping a PGA Tour event in the Hartford area," tournament director Nathan Grube said. "This agreement allows us to maintain our 55-year relationship with the PGA Tour while delivering our commitment to bring the highest level of competitive golf to Hartford with early summer dates."
The Buick Championship at Hartford will be played June 29-July 2 this year. The last few years the event has been played in late August and has not drawn strong fields.
The FedEx Cup consists of PGA Tour events from January through September, concluding with the Tour Championship. The Fall Series
will be tournaments primarily for players trying to keep their tour
card, which would not include any of the top stars.
The 84 Lumber Classic began only three years ago and was loaded with perks for the players, such as lodging at the Nemacolin Resort, electronics and a six first-class tickets on a charter to Ireland one year for those playing a World Golf Championship. It also signed Vijay Singh and John Daly to endorsement deals.
"Over the past several months, we have developed and recently embarked on a strategic growth plan focusing us totally on the professional contractor market," 84 Lumber president Maggie Hardy Magerko said. "We will continue discussions with the tour on
future partnerships."