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PGA Event Finds New Sponsor In Transitions Optical

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By MICK ELLIOTT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 5, 2008

PALM HARBOR - Literally, it was a sight for sore eyes Wednesday at Innisbrook Resort when, with PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem helping pull the rip cords, a giant banner unrolled from a ballroom ceiling announcing the new Transitions Championship.

Tampa Bay's place on the men's professional golf tour schedule has new life.

Transitions Optical Inc., a Pinellas Park-based company founded in 1990 that has grown into a worldwide leader in plastic photochromic lenses, will put its name on the annual March PGA Tour event. The deal is for four years and solidifies the tournament's once-shaky future.

After carrying three different title sponsors in the past six years and most recently seeing PODS escape from a six-year agreement after only two seasons, the tournament may finally have found a corporate partner committed to long-term growth.

"We have not built in an option for an early exit from the four-year commitment," Transitions president Brett Craig said. "No, we have not."

To further underline the company's commitment beyond the typical $7 million-a-year cost of hosting a PGA Tour event, Craig announced additional negotiations to become a corporate sponsor - official eyewear of the PGA Tour - and hopes of signing individual contracts with select players to carry the company logo.

"This is a big step for us and a big step for our brand," Transitions managing director Dave Cole said. "Most important is the platform for getting a message out. The PGA Tour and people who follow the tour are for us a perfect match of lifestyles."

The company's core product line is Transitions lenses, noted for adjusting from clear to dark in relationship to light. In addition to its Pinellas Park corporate headquarters on Belcher Road, manufacturing operations are located in Ireland, the Philippines, Brazil, Australia and Thailand.

"This is a company that is global, and we are a sport that is global," Finchem said. "We have 82 exempt players today who are outside the United States. We are on television in 220 countries around the world. So having a global brand and a global company is very, very important in terms of developing the partnership we want."

Earlier this year Finchem said that Tampa Bay would not be on next year's tour schedule without a title sponsor, and tournament organizers were given a deadline of April 30 to at least be in serious negotiations.

"With growth and awareness of our brand, one of the things we considered venturing into was a title sponsorship," Craig said. "This one had just become available because of the early exit of PODS. It became available about five months ago and we ran a fairly quick analysis and made the decision."

Finchem responded with a deadpan, "Five months is not that quick, Brett."

Also celebrating the news was Innisbrook Resort owner Sheila Johnson, who just over a year ago purchased the property and has committed to a $25 million overhaul of the facilities.

"This sponsorship reinforces the commitment that all the partners in this event have to the Tampa Bay area," Johnson said. "Not only does a PGA Tour event bring tremendous economic benefit to the community, it also will help to shine a global spotlight on Tampa."

Much to the relief of all involved.

"When we were in the position of debating how we were going to deal with the possibility of not having a title sponsor here we were pushed pretty hard by players and television," Finchem said. "NBC did not want to lose this market. It works well with the Florida Swing. The players did not want to lose having the Copperhead on tour.

"But there is something you need to have to make any tournament work, and that is the commitment from the title sponsor. So we are excited."

Reporter Mick Elliott can be reached at (813) 281-2534 or melliott@tampatrib.com.

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