Three years after the WGC-Accenture Match Play championships vacated Tucson and moved first to San Francisco and then to Texas, the Tucson Conquistadores have staged a PGA Champions Tour event at Tucson National.
They have done so without a corporate title sponsor, yet still managed to pay $1.7 million in prize money each year.
Finally, after three years of attempting to find a sponsor, it appears the Conquistadores struck golf gold. On Tuesday, the charitable group is expected to announce that Exact Sciences Corp. will become its title sponsor beginning in March.
Exact Sciences? It is a molecular diagnostics company with an initial focus on the early detection and prevention of colorectal cancer. The company, founded in 1995, is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin.
Champions Tour events are sponsored by three insurance companies, a kitchen appliance firm, an energy company, a financial institution and by Bass Pro Shops. Anything goes. Adding Exact Sciences to the group is a game-changer for pro golf in Tucson and for the Conquistadores’ many local charities.
