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History in Iowa State. This week, it's a historic week. We get pro hockey. The NHL makes its official debut tomorrow with the Chicago Blackhawks in town and coming up on Thursday, the PGA Tour returns to the state of Utah for the first time in sixty years. Patrick Manny, managing partner, Black Desert Championship right around the corner back on the show, Patrick, Happy Monday. How we doing.
Doing great? Vince?
How are you well? I'm well so simple. First question, are you guys ready? As I told you a few months back, I had the very very fortunate opportunity to play the track and check out the resort. And as I walked into the makeshift club house you guys had in the trailer, there's a sign that said don't worry, We'll be ready or something like that. So now that it's here, are we ready to roll? Patrick?
We are rolling. We had the Monday pro am today and I talked to I don't know thirty forty of the players that have been out on the course, and I think the most common words out of their mouth is I had no idea, meaning the resort is just unbelievably nice. The course is an unbelievable shape. I even sent some photos, aerial photos off to the PGA tour and they said they didn't believe they were real.
Yeah, and I can believe that even if. Yes, someone who's lived in the state for twenty five years, I've never quite anything like it. So now we know the field. The field has been released. We were waiting for quite some time to try to figure out who we were going to see down in Saint George for the Black Desert Championship. I wonder if you could take us behind the scenes on the work you guys did to try to track golfers to to come down to Saint George.
And your reaction now that the field is finalized.
Well, I mean, I we didn't do a whole lot other than we you know, we had Mike Weir and Zach Blair and Patrick Fishburne and some other guys that were out really telling everybody, hey, this is this is a no joke. This is like a world class golf course.
And but we didn't do a whole lot more. The fook we wanted to accomplish in this first year is going to get a great field, which we have, but then really just show the world how beautiful this area is, how fantastic the course is, what a game change of a resort, Black Desert resort is. And then like I'm going. Tim West is like the play or whisperer, and he was out there today and he just said, Patrick, this is this is the nicest place I've seen. Like it
is the best. He's like, these guys are talking in you know, I was talking to him yet last night and player dining and he's like they're all whispering, Like we had no idea this was gonna So that's all we want to accomplish is how these guys have a great time, treat him, treat him really well, and then in year two they're like pack in a great field. This year we're gonna have We're gonna have a great time. We have a great field. We're just gonna build upon it.
I wonder I know a lot of people up here, and every time I would talk about it on the show, get a lot of messages like, is there any chance Tony's gonna play? Can well Tony fen out play? He's not in the field, Patrick, can you shed some light on any potential conversations that took place? Where was there a chance that we were gonna see Tony this week? Down there?
There was a chance he was trying to work some things. But really, I gotta I gotta take my hat off to him. In the end, he had promised Drese, his son, who's going to be playing in his first national tournament the same week as our tournament, and he's capping he's a captain, and so he's just like Patrick, I can move all the other things, but I just can't tell my son, never mind, I'm not going to captain your first national tournament.
Well that's entirely understandable, and as you know, that's completely on brand for who Tony is, right, absolutely, yeah, all right, so a really cool story. And you know, a couple of our local TV stations went down to interview Jaydn Blake, and I can't imagine Patrick, what it must be like for a Saint George boy to start his five hundredth PGA Tour tournament in his own backyard. I mean, he was crying when he received the news he was getting
the sponsor exemption. Talk about this dynamic, pretty cool story down South.
Yeah, this is the type of stuff you can't even make it up. Like you said, he grew up as a little boy here playing in the Hearts because he couldn't afford the golf course, and his mom drove him around to tournaments eventually, and they slept in their car and got cleaned up in gas stations. And you know, as you know, he became an incredible golfer and four hundred and ninety nine tour starts is just an amazing accomplishment.
But he tried for ten years at Monday qualifiers, he tried every he wrote letters asking for exemptions, and he just couldn't get his five hundred and he had given up, and us bringing the Black Desert Championship to Southern Utah right in his backyard, literally only a couple of miles from where he grew up. That was just too good
of a story to pass up. So I surprised him with a sponsor's exemption for him to get his five hundred, and he's gonna he's gonna start that just here in a couple of days.
On Hold one, Patrick, I have the forecast pulled up for this week, and just so you know a little breaking news, it's gonna be warm. It is going to be very hot down there. Yeah, I wonder what the usual? Sure? Sure, And you know, like ultimately we're gonna blink and there's gonna be snow up here and it's not gonna be as warm down there. That's the deal. But are there any unique challenges that the heat brings for you guys this week as you're putting on this tournament?
Uh? No, not really. I mean, we're unfortunately having to overwater a little bit early on, so the greens have gotten they slowed up a little bit, but we're gonna turn the water off and firm them up. And it was just a little bit more, a little bit more work, but no big deal.
So enlighten me on because we've been talking about this a little bit. Do you have a five year commitment from the tour?
What?
Obviously it's great to have it this year, but it's not going anywhere for a while. Is that correct?
That's correct? Yeah, we we intend. When I say we ll stand, the PJ Tour intend to do this like for decades. However, we have to have a contract term. The contract term to begin with is four years. They were willing to go seven to start with. It's kind of a long story. We didn't want they didn't want to change title sponsors during a contract term, and we didn't want to commit to being the title sponsor for
seven years. So we said, okay, let's do a four year contract and revisit because you know, it's expensive to throw these things on and walking away from title sponsors means we're putting in a whole bunch of millions to put to pull this off every year.
So what have you learned throughout this process? You know? So moving forward over the next three years, I'm not going to say you can do it better, because I don't know how you're going to do it. We're going to find out this week. But you know, the first time you do anything, it's hard. First time I sat in front of a microphone, I'm sure I was horrible at this. Some people probably tell you I'm still bad at it. But the first time you do something, it's
not easy. This is your first experience. What are some of the lessons you guys have learned?
You know.
I got to say we are really fortunate. We have an amazing tournament director, John Coolbal, We have an amazing set of consultants that run every year for the last in twelve years, the Farmer's Insurance Open at Tory Pines. Their whole team is here, and we have a lot of supportive people who have been doing this for years and years at the highest level. And so I feel like we're pretty dialed in year one. I think the PJ Tour said this is looking like a year three
tournament in year one, so good job. And so I think everything's pretty smooth. But we're gonna find out. There might be a few hiccups. And I can probably answer that question better post mortem than I can before the tournament gets going.
For sure, I don't suppose you'd be so bold this could give me your pick to win the thing, will you?
I don't mind doing that. I'll roll out Patrick Fishburn.
Ah, Patrick Fishburn, very nice, very nice. So Hey, I appreciate the time. Anything else you want our listeners to know, Patrick before I set you loose.
Oh one more story, I think a juxtaposition to Jaydon Blake getting his five hundredth We have Key Hey Akina that's in the field as a sponsor exemption. And I love this story. He's eighteen years old at Lone Peak High School. He's a number seventh ranked junior in the world.
And I was sitting with he and his dad Alan over lunch and I said, I said, Key, how many PGA tournaments have you been to? And his dad pipe Ben and said he has been begging me to take him to a PGA tournament since he was five years old. And I told him every single year, Ka, the first time you go to a PGA tournament, you'll be playing in it.
Oh wow, this kid is.
Eighteen years old, never even been to a PGA tournament.
Oh that rules. That rules well obviously for me, as somebody who's really learned to love this game. I'm thrilled for you guys and appreciate the efforts to bring PGA Tour golf back to the state. Wish I could be down there. My day job calls. Maybe one day I'll have more control over my time, but I appreciate your time. Patrick, good luck this week.
Okay, thank you so much.
All right, Patrick, Manny and the managing partner. As the Black Desert Championship descends upon Saint George, the Black Desert Resort starts on Thursday, rolls through Sunday. It marks the return of the PGA Tour to Utah for the first time in more than sixty years. Tickets are available at Black Desert Events dot com. You can also follow them on Instagram at Black Desert Championship is where you find them.