Wayne Nooe's first public task as tournament director of the Kingsmill Championship is one of reassurance.
In no way, Nooe said, does the newly hatched LPGA tournament's smaller purse — $1.3 million, considerably less than the Michelob Ultra Open's $2.2 million — suggest a diminished commitment on the part of the resort or the Williamsburg community.
"When we talked to (Michelob Ultra Open) players about why they liked Kingsmill, they never talked about the purse," Nooe said. "They talked about the course and the way they were treated and the way the resort made so many amenities — a fitness spa, a restaurant — available to them. Well, we still have all of those things — the same course, the same amenities, the same great hospitality."
The LPGA will return to Kingsmill the weekend of Sept. 6-9 following a two-year absence. The resort's parent company, Xanterra Parks and Resorts, a Denver-based hospitality management firm, will serve as the new tournament's title sponsor for two years with an option for a third. Nooe, Kingsmill's vice president of club and golf operations, said the Kingsmill and Xanterra hope to locate a permanent title sponsor before the current agreement expires.
"Kingsmill was built around golf," Nooe said. "So much of our history is tied to golf — 22 PGA events ... seven (LPGA) events. That's what we do. That's what we're known for." He said world-class golf "is instrumental to the success and notoriety of the resort."
Nooe said local response has been "fairly overwhelming." He said "the phone was ringing off the hook for days" following the LPGA's announcement in early January that it would return to Kingsmill in 2012. "Longtime (resort) employees, residents, members — they all know what this means. They all know how much fun the (tournament) weekend is." He said volunteers from previous tournaments are clamoring to regain their old jobs. He said "at least 70 percent" of the 2009 tournament's committee chairs have already agreed to serve again in 2012.
None of which has surprised him. "Once something goes away, once you don't have it any more — that's when you realize just how important it was to you."
Typical of the community enthusiasm are the ongoing negotiations between two former Anheuser-Busch properties: Kingsmill (acquired by Xanterra in 2010) and the neighboring Busch Gardens theme park (sold to the Blackstone Group in 2009). Access to the theme park was a key ingredient in the Michelob Ultra Open's appeal to LPGA players — particularly those with children. Nooe said Kingsmill has maintained "a great relationship" with Busch Gardens. He said he feels "very good" about the likelihood of the theme park once again making its attractions available to players and their families.
The calendar may prove to be the inaugural Kingsmill Championship's most formidable foe. The tournament will compete for attention with the Sept. 8 Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway. And it will tee off only 21/2 weeks after the Eagle Classic, an LPGA Futures Tour event, concludes at Richmond Country Club. The Kingsmill Championship is expected to move to a more appealing first-half-of-May date in 2013.
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