Celebrity golfers making positive testimonials about Hawaii’s weather and activities were supposed to be part of the $2.1 million marketing contract signed Tuesday by the PGA Tour and the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
HTA President and CEO George Szigeti touted Tuesday that “sports fans everywhere can count on Hawaii being the picturesque backdrop over three consecutive weeks for the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Maui, Sony Open in Hawaii on Oahu, and Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai on the island of Hawaii.”
The contract renewal, which runs through 2022, brought anticipation about how happy the players were in the isles, and how footage of their most satisfied moments would entice fans, especially those from chilly regions, to book trips to Hawaii.
Unfortunately, several negative messages from PGA golfers caught in the turmoil of Saturday’s false ballistic missile alert lit up social media channels and may have dampened some of the HTA’s expected advertising gains.
A tweet sent by Steve Wheatcroft at 8:14 a.m. Saturday said, “So ……. this can’t be good. Everyone was freaking out in the hotel.”
JJ Spaun’s 8:26 a.m. tweet said he was waiting it out “in a basement under the hotel,” adding, “Barely any service. Can you send confirmed message over radio or TV.”
John Peterson sent out a tweet at 8:28 a.m. saying that he was “under mattresses in the bathtub with my wife, baby and in laws. Please lord let this bomb threat not be real.”
Mark Rolfing, NBC Golf Channel TV analyst, said he was doing a live radio show from the media center at the Waialae Country Club when the false threat occurred. He quickly joined about 40 others in the facility’s locker room.
“The people were afraid. They were terrified — not so much the adults, it was the children,” Rolfing said. “A lot of activity at the club and the Kahala Hotel was disrupted. We were gearing up for a golf tournament and a late morning wedding was getting ready to start. A lot of activity got thrown into this chaotic scene of people not knowing exactly what to do, but having only 15 minutes to do it.”
While Saturday’s events won’t affect the contract, Rolfing said it remains to be seen how the turmoil will affect the tournament — anxiety could throw some scores, especially for players who aren’t in the lead, he said.
“It will be harder for guys who aren’t in the lead. Let’s say you barely made the cut. That meant you teed off closer to the alert than the lead players,” Rolfing said.
On Monday the PGA Tour Champions, formerly the Senior PGA Tour, heads to Hualalai for the Mitsubishi Electric Championship, which runs through Saturday.
Sony Open Notebook by Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Scribd
