Golf Tourney Ready To Replace Rheem

It’s still known as the Rheem Classic, but Fort Smith’s flagship golf tournament hopes to have a new title sponsor soon.
Fort Smith-based Rheem Manufacturing has been the title sponsor since 2003, but opted not to renew its contract with the PGA Tour, which owns and operates the Nationwide Tour.
That has forced tournament director Lisa Baker to comb the country the past few weeks in search of a new sponsor and she hopes to have everything finalized by Nov. 6.
“We want to keep this tournament in Arkansas,” Baker said. “There’s a lot of fire in Fort Smith and we’ve all joined forces and rallied together to keep it here.”
Baker said two leads — one national and one regional company — look “very promising.” Proposals already have been made and she is expecting a call any day. She also credited Zero Mountain Inc. in Fort Smith for continuing it’s high-level of support.
The classic is the only PGA Tour event in Arkansas and has been part of the Nationwide Tour the past nine years. It will continue to be at Hardscrabble Country Club in early May, but the exact date has not been driven home.
“One (date) is if The Golf Channel decides to air it and the other is without TV,” Baker said. “TV brings in a lot of excitement and many more viewers, but it’ll still be a solid event even without it.”
Entry-level sponsors can get involved for as low as $200, but the price tag on a title sponsor is estimated to be between $1 million and $1.2 million.