Charles Schwab adds Fort Worth event to golf portfolio

Investment services firm Charles Schwab has been named as the new title sponsor of the Fort Worth Invitational PGA Tour golf event in Texas.

The four-year deal runs from 2019 to 2022. The new name of the tournament, which takes place annually at Fort Worth's Colonial Country Club, will be announced at a later date.

This year’s edition of the event, scheduled for May 24-27, will go ahead without a title sponsor following financial difficulties with speciality foods retailer Dean & DeLuca, the tournament's previous partner. In February 2016, Dean & DeLuca agreed a six-year deal with the PGA Tour to sponsor the event until 2021 but the company announced last year that it would end the partnership early.

Last month, the PGA Tour confirmed that the 2018 event would be known simply as the Fort Worth Invitational, with four companies – American Airlines, AT&T, XTO Energy and Burlington Northern Santa Fe – to provide financial support in the absence of a title sponsor.

Charles Schwab is an existing sponsor of the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions. Earlier this month, it further strengthened its position within golf by becoming a sponsor of the PGA Championship, one of the four majors on the men’s circuit, from 2018 to 2020. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, but is planning to open a new hub in Westlake, Texas next year.

Jonathan Craig, senior executive vice-president of the Charles Schwab Corporation, said: “Schwab has a long history of investing in the communities in which we live and serve our clients and with our growing presence in, and commitment to the state of Texas, we could not be more delighted to support the tradition of this tournament.”

Kevin Kisner (pictured) is the defending champion of the Fort Worth Invitational.