Century Club: Golf tournament will go on without Buick

After Buick officials announced Tuesday that they were withdrawing sponsorship of all PGA Tour events, Century Club officials said plans for the 2010 tournament at Torrey Pines are in place and talks are underway with potential new sponors.

Tom Wornham, a La Jollan who is chairman of the Century Club issued a statement thanking the auto dealer for its five decades of support for the tournament, which he said generates $30 million a year for the region.

“The Century Club will continue to work closely with the PGA Tour to find the best partner for our Torrey Pines Tournament,” he said in the statement. “Since the potential for changes at GM were first discussed, we began exploring options and have had very productive discussions with several outstanding prospective sponsors. The pace of these discussions will now accelerate with the continued support of the Tour.”

The PGA/Buick statement said the withdrawal is a “result of the court-supervised restructuring of General Motors” and affects the Buick Open at Warwick Hills, (Grand Blanc, Mich.) as well.

An announcement was expected on Wednesday from the PGA TOUR regarding a replacement for the Buick Open’s tournament date on the 2010 schedule.

The Century Club has put the golf tournament on since 1961, Wornham said, noting that the San Diego Invitational is the region’s “longest running major annual event.” It has had several sponsors over the years, he added.

For next year’s event, the “Diamond in the Rough Tournament Gala is already sold out. The Pro-Am events are attracting entries at historical levels and we continue to enjoy outstanding corporate and individual support for the sponsorship and promotional packages.”

Funds raised from the event support local charities, schools, the military and other causes.