What does Raytheon do? All you need to know about the Byron Nelson sponsors nixed by PGA Tour over Saudi missile deals
Raytheon Technologies is making headlines these days with the cancellation of a sponsorship deal with Bryson Nelson by PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan. AT&T sponsors the Bryon Nelson competition, but this will be their final season.
The PGA Tour has been looking for a new sponsor and had a deal with Raytheon Technologies when Monahan terminated it at the last minute due to the company's ties to Saudi Arabia.
Last year in August, the US State Department approved Raytheon Technologies for weapon sales to Saudi Arabia to supply MIM-104 E Patriot missiles worth more than $3 billion.
Raytheon Technologies is a multinational aerospace corporation based in the United States that provides military weaponry around the globe. The headquarter of the corporation is in Arlington, Virginia.
Raytheon Corporation is one of the world's major manufacturers of aircraft engines, guided missiles, air defence systems, avionics, drones, satellites, and cybersecurity solutions. In addition, the firm is the largest military contractor.
Laurence K. Marshall, Charles G. Smith, and Vannevar Bush created the American Company in 1922. In 2019, United Technologies combined with Raytheon to form the world's second-largest aerospace and defence corporation by sales and named it Raytheon Technologies.
Byron Nelson sponsors over the years
Byron Nelson is a Texas golf tournament that began in 1944 as the Texas Victory Open. The next year, it was renamed Dallas Open, and in 1946, it was titled Dallas Invitational.
The tournament was once known as the Dallas Centennial Open in 1956, then the Texas International Open, before being renamed the Bryon Nelson Golf Classic in 1968, and it has remained such ever since.
In 1988, GTE Financial became the first title sponsor of the Bryon Nelson Championship. Verizon took over the sponsorship of the Bryon Nelson Championship from GTE in 2001, followed by Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in 2003, and ultimately Hewlett-Packard in 2007.
In 2015, AT&T became the tournament's title sponsor, and the tournament relocated to the new Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas.
AT&T also sponsors the PGA Tour's Pebble Beach Tournament, which will allegedly continue to be sponsored because it will be a designated event next year. They have, however, opted not to support the Bryon Nelson competition.
With the termination of the deal with AT&T, the PGA officials are still seeking a new sponsor,
2023 AT&T Byron Nelson recap
The AT&T Byron Nelson is taking place at TPC Craig Ranch from May 11 to 14. With the completion of the 36 holes, the competition has reached halfway. Scottie Scheffler was the leader after the round of 64 on Friday.
He shot two rounds of 64 and finished with a -14 to take a one-stroke lead over Ryan Palmer and Mackenzie Hughes.
K.H. Lee finished 65th, alongside Brandon Wu, Jonathan Byrd, Brice Garnett, Martin Laird, Jim Herman, Lucas Glover, David Thompson, Fabian Gomez, Carson Young, Andrew Novak, Cameron Champ, Andrew Novak, Stewart Cink, Robert Streb, Aaron Wise, Vince Whaley, Satoshi Kodaira, Brent Grant, and David Micheluzzi, after matching the projected cut-line of -4.