FEATURE

Buy.Com assumes sponsorship
of PGA developmental tour

Nike bows out after six years

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - The PGA is changing the title sponsor for its developmental tour.

Beginning next year, the Nike Tour will become the Buy.com Tour, the PGA announced today. Buy.com, based in Aliso Viejo, Calif., is a leading Internet retailer specializing in computers and software. The company was formed in 1997.

• GolfCalifornia.com professional golf results. • Past California course reviews and features.

"The PGA Tour is very excited about this new relationship with one of the leading companies in the Internet marketplace," PGA Commissioner Timothy Finchem said. "Buy.com is on the cutting edge of a new wave of commerce and we see this partnership as a bold new step that will help the Tour expand and develop."

Originally formed in 1990 as the Ben Hogan Tour, the circuit became the Nike Tour in 1993. Nike's original contract with the PGA Tour included the 2000 season, but Nike will seek to develop new projects under the Tour's auspices.

Last weekend's Nike Tour Championship in Dothan, Ala., concluded the circuit's 10th season. The top 15 players on the money list earned PGA Tour cards for the 2000 season.

The Buy.com Tour will include 30 events next year with $12 million in prize money.

Designed to help aspiring PGA Tour players develop their skills, the Buy.Com Tour has produced golfers with 70 PGA victories, including David Duval, Tom Lehman, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk and Jeff Maggert.

This year, a record 18 PGA titles have been won by Buy.com alumni.