The Marathon LPGA Classic is returning to network television.
And it’s staying for a while.
The final round of the 2020 and 2021 tournament will air live on CBS from Highland Meadows Golf Club. Next year’s final round — July 12 — will be broadcast from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
The announcement was made Thursday by Brian Partee, senior vice president of marketing for Marathon Petroleum. This is the Marathon Classic’s second appearance on CBS, with the final round of the 2016 tournament, which ended in a four-hole playoff won by Lydia Ko, drawing a 0.7 rating, the second highest for a women’s golf event that year.
“Thanks to Marathon the final round of the Marathon LPGA Classic in both 2020 and 2021 will be televised nationally by CBS,” tournament director Judd Silverman said.
The purchase price for two hours of airtime on network television on a Sunday afternoon is reportedly over $1 million.
“We are always looking for ways to make the Marathon LPGA Classic bigger and better,” Partee said.
Marathon has pumped millions of dollars into the Sylvania-based tournament since coming on board as the title sponsor in 2012. It was as recently as 2010 when the combination of a bad economy and the hard feelings stirred by deposed former commissioner Carolyn Bivens left the LPGA Tour with only 24 events, down 10 from two years earlier.
The then-Jamie Farr Toledo Classic was one of the holdovers, but returned with a lower purse, no TV coverage, and no clear future. It looked like the next event out the door in 2012 when the tournament, already without a title sponsor, learned Kroger would not be returning as a presenting sponsor. But Marathon came to the rescue with an infusion of money and optimism that brought new life to the tournament.
LPGA commissioner Mike Whan has played a starring role in the tour’s revival. Sei Young Kim, last year’s Marathon Classic champion, won the year-end CME Tour Championship in November and with it a $1.5 million check, the largest winner’s prize in LPGA Tour history.
The 2020 LPGA schedule features 33 official events in 12 countries with a record total prize fund of $75.1 million. The tour will also experience its most hours of television production in LPGA history, with at least seven tournaments that will air on network television.
The purse for the 2020 Marathon LPGA Classic is up $100,000 to $1.85 million. Under Marathon’s stewardship, the winner’s check has grown by $112,500.
The tournament has raised $11.5 million for 185 northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan children’s charities since its inception in 1984. On Thursday, a record $570,114 was distributed to 24 charities.
“We are proud that the Marathon LPGA Classic was able to raise a record $570,000 to benefit dozens of deserving children’s charities in this region,” Partee said. “This remarkable achievement wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our sponsors and the thousands of loyal fans who support the Marathon LPGA Classic year after year.”
Each of the 24 charities was represented Thursday at the annual luncheon at the Pinnacle in Maumee. The 2020 edition of the Marathon Classic will push charitable donations past the $12 million mark.
The tournament also announced the 25 charities that will receive contributions from the 2020 Marathon Classic: Adopt America Network, Aurora Project Inc., Big Brother Big Sister of West Central Ohio, CASA/Gal of Hancock County, Catholic Club, Children’s Museum of Findlay, College Mentors For Kids, Connecting Kids To Meals, Courageous Community Services, Franciscan Earth Literacy Center, Geary Family YMCA, Girls on the Run of NW Ohio, Hancock County Special Olympics, Hancock Literacy, Heartbeat of Toledo, Jamie Farr Scholarship Fund, Junior Achievement of NW Ohio, Muscular Dystrophy Association, ProMedica Foundation (First Tee/Boys & Girls Club), Ronald McDonald House Charities, Sara’s Garden, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, Sylvania Community Action Team, YMCA of Bucyrus-Tiffin, and YMCA of Greater Toledo.
The 2020 Marathon Classic will be held July 6-12 at Highland Meadows. The first three rounds will be televised by Golf Channel and the final round will air on CBS.
A holiday 2-for-1 sale for weekly grounds tickets and a parking pass is currently available. Tickets can be purchased at area Kroger stores or online at marathonclassic.com. The buyer has the option to select a local children’s charity to receive 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale.
The full list of 2019 charities and tournament contributions: Ability Center of Greater Toledo, $20,000; Blanchard Valley Health System, $67,317 Boy Scouts of America, $8,538; Charity Ticket Program, $15,120; Children’s Hunger Alliance, $25,000; Children’s Rights Collaborative of NW Ohio, $40,000; Citizens for Metroparks, $25,000; Diabetes Youth Services, $20,000; Findlay Enrichment Programs, $34,821; Girl Scouts of Western Ohio, $10,000; Hope House for the Homeless, $61,721; Hospice of NW Ohio, $20,000; International Boxing Club, $11,000; Jamie Farr Scholarship Fund of GTCF, $24,000; Mom’s House Inc. of Toledo, $25,000; Parker’s Purpose, $20,000; Partners in Education of Toledo, $10,000; Ronald McDonald House Charities, $50,000; SAFY – Specialized Alternatives for Families & Youth of Ohio Inc., $12,597; Toledo Challenger Little League, $10,000; Toledo Junior Golf Association, $10,000; Toledo Northwest Ohio Food Bank, $20,000; Toledo Symphony, $10,000; Women's Initiative of United Way of Greater Toledo, $20,000.
“We look forward to this day for 52 weeks,” Silverman said. “It truly is the culmination of a community that comes together for a cause. There’s no better place than northwest Ohio, and the evidence is right in the numbers and the money we [distributed] today.”
First Published December 19, 2019, 1:26 p.m.
