A Golf Marketing Company's Sigh: "Financial Hardship Due to COVID-19"

Recent Complete Suspension of Domestic Pro Golf Tour "No Revenue and Considering Restructuring"

Professional golf tournament management agencies are facing difficulties as domestic tours are being canceled one after another due to the impact of COVID-19.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] "This is really a big problem."

A sigh from a representative of Agency A, which operates domestic professional golf tournaments. With the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), men's and women's tournaments are being postponed one after another. The Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour took a direct hit from COVID-19 starting with the Taiwan Ladies Open last month, followed by the Lotte Rent-a-Car Ladies Open and the Celltrion Queens Masters. The Korean Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) Korean Tour also indefinitely postponed the season-opening DB Insurance Promy Open scheduled for late April.

"With the tournaments canceled, there is no income at all," they said, "and it's even more frustrating because we don't know when they will resume." For agencies that endured a long winter while looking forward to the new season, this is literally a matter of survival. Except for a few large corporations, many are already struggling with rent and labor costs. Without sales, it's a headache all around. Agency B added with concern, "If tournaments are not held in May, we will have to consider restructuring."

The main source of income for agencies is, of course, tournament operations. Usually, they can earn between 100 million to 300 million KRW depending on the total prize money. Agencies handling early-season tournaments suffer even greater losses. They make various efforts to attract even small events to survive, but now, due to the impact of COVID-19, all scheduled events are being canceled one after another. Agency C shook their head, saying, "There is nowhere to generate revenue at all."

Sponsors are also cautious about the resumption of golf tournaments. The number of people involved reaches as many as 500 to 1,000. If a confirmed case occurs, it could be a disaster. This is why they avoid the title of the first domestic golf tournament after COVID-19. With domestic and international economies in recession, providing large amounts of support is also a burden. Agency D lamented, "Sponsors are watching each other closely," adding, "We can only wait for the end of COVID-19."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.