Yokohama Tire Corp.’s namesake Ladies Professional Golf Association tournament will help decide who will compete in the Rio Summer Olympics—a task that’s necessary for the first time since the sport was removed from the Olympic lineup 112 years ago.
The teams heading to Brazil for this year’s games will be determined by LPGA rankings compiled up until July 11.
The Santa Ana-based tire marketer is the title sponsor of the May 5 to 8 Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic.
The tournament, taking place in Alabama, has been moved from its prior spot on the tour’s schedule in late summer to accommodate members of the LPGA tour—including leading pros Stacy Lewis and Cristie Kerr—who are contenders to compete in Rio from Aug. 15 to 21.
Men’s events are scheduled for the first part of the games, from Aug. 8 to 14.
Golf appeared at the Olympic Games for the first time in 1900 in Paris featuring both male and female athletes. It was excluded from the schedule after the 1904 games in St. Louis. The International Olympic Committee in 2009 decided to re-include it in the program for the 2016 games.
Each country can send two to four golfers, depending whether its representatives are among the top 15 players on the Official World Golf Ranking list.
“We’re glad the Olympic committee has recognized golf and these tremendous athletes,” said Yokohama Director of Marketing Alan Holtschneider. “The Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic will be a great way for the golfers to prepare for the Olympic Games, which should make for an exciting, competitive environment.”
The tournament will be held at Robert Trent Jones’ Capitol Hill Senate Course in Prattville, Ala., with all four rounds broadcast on the Golf Channel, which last year increased its LPGA coverage by 10% for a total of more than 390 hours in the 2015 season. This year the total TV airtime is projected to exceed 410 hours.
The Yokohama Tire Classic has a $1.3 million purse. The Kia Classic—sponsored by Kia Motors America Inc. in Irvine and held last month in Carlsbad—had a $1.7 million purse.
The title sponsorship of an LPGA event can cost from $500,000 to $750,000 a year, while putting one’s name on a tournament under the men’s PGA banner runs $5 million or more, according to industry sources.
LPGA last year held 33 tournaments, with $59.1 million in total prize money. This year it will have 34 events, with a total purse of $63 million.
Yokohama Tire, which moved offices from Fullerton to Santa Ana this year, is the North American manufacturing and marketing arm of Yokohama Rubber Co. in Tokyo, one of the largest tire makers in the world. It also is the sponsor of the inaugural 2016 Yokohama/LPGA Charity Open on May 2 at the Robert Trent Jones course. The tournament will support KaBOOM, a Washington, D.C-based nonprofit group that has opened or improved nearly 16,300 playgrounds since 1996.
Orange County is home to Nitto Tire U.S.A. Inc., a Cypress-based manufacturer of off-road and street performance tires; and Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp., also in Cypress, which recently expanded its sponsorship of the Anaheim Ducks to become the official tire sponsor of the team. It’s a subsidiary of Japan-based tire manufacturer Toyo Tire & Rubber Co.
