Bad news for PGA Tour as Las Vegas event loses crucial ally after 18 years of support

The PGA Tour recently lost a key sponsor of their fall season Las Vegas event. Shriners Children's Hospital has ended its long-standing title sponsorship of the Shriners Children's Open.

This year's edition of the event concluded last week, and soon after, Golf Digest reported that Shriners Children's Hospital had opted to end its sponsorship deal after almost two decades. Speaking on the decision, Shriners' vice president of sports, Bob Roller, said (via Golf Digest):

"We have enjoyed a tremendous 18 years as the host and title sponsor of the Shriners Children’s Open. The opportunity to tell our incredible stories of the more than 1.6 million children that have received care from Shriners was, and always is, our primary goal. The PGA Tour has been a tremendous partner along the way, and we thank them and the entire Las Vegas/Summerlin community.”

The Las Vegas event is one of the oldest on the PGA Tour, established in 1983. Over the years, it has had several title sponsors. Shriners Children's Hospital began sponsoring the event in 2008.

The tournament was initially known as the Panasonic Las Vegas Pro-Celebrity Classic, later renamed the Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational, and from 1989 to 1999, it was called the Las Vegas Invitational. It was then renamed the Invensys Classic at Las Vegas.

When Shriners Children's Hospital took over as the title sponsor, American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake became the event host, and it was called the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. However, it was renamed to the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open when Timberlake left in 2013.

In 2021, the tournament was again renamed to the Shriners Children's Open. Notably, this tournament was where Tiger Woods secured his first PGA Tour win, defeating Davis Love III in a playoff in 1996.

JT Poston won the 2024 edition of the PGA Tour's Las Vegas event

The 2024 edition of the Shriners Children's Open concluded last Sunday, October 20, at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. This year, JT Poston emerged as the champion, recording rounds of 64, 65, 66, and 67 to claim a one-stroke victory over Doug Ghim.

Some big names, including Bryson DeChambeau (now on LIV Golf) and Patrick Cantlay, have also won the tournament during Shriners Children's Hospital's sponsorship.

Here are the winners of the tournament since it was sponsored by Shriners Children's Hospital:

2024: J.T. Poston
2023: Tom Kim
2022: Tom Kim
2021: Im Sung-jae
2020: Martin Laird
2019: Kevin Na
2018: Bryson DeChambeau
2017: Patrick Cantlay
2016: Rod Pampling
2015: Smylie Kaufman
2014: Ben Martin
2013: Webb Simpson
2012: Ryan Moore
2011: Kevin Na
2010: Jonathan Byrd
2009: Martin Laird
2008: Marc Turnesa

Notably, Jim Furyk holds the record for the most wins at this event, having clinched victory three times, including back-to-back wins in 1998 and 1999.