Sport
Tiger Woods has a personal stake in his holiday event
“It shows what this event means to him,” Stricker said. “There’s a lot of things Tiger does that people don’t know about.”
The World Challenge has raised US$25 million for the foundation since it began, including prize money from Woods. He has won five times, which helps.
Only last year was it revealed that Woods also donates his prize money from every tournament that benefits the foundation — the AT&T National, which began in 2007, and the Deutsche Bank Championship, which began in 2003 and became a FedEx Cup playoff event in 2007. That total now stands at US$14.2 million.
How much longer the World Challenge continues is uncertain.
Greg McLaughlin, president of the Tiger Woods Foundation, said it has a reserve fund that supports operations and programs, such as the learning centers. He did not say whether the World Challenge could go another year without a title sponsor, saying only that it was “very important.” The tournament has been given a date for 2013 — moved back one week to Dec. 5-8 — but that doesn’t mean it will be played.
“Northwestern Mutual made a significant contribution as a presenting sponsor, but it left a shortfall,” he said. “Tiger stepped up. Tiger’s direct contributions are making up that shortfall.”
The AT&T National contract is through 2014, though a wrinkle was added to renegotiating when AT&T announced on Friday that it become the new title sponsor of the Byron Nelson Championship in 2015.
