- California
Another measured step in Wachovia Corp.'s expansion or a step too far?
May 9 -
CHARLOTTE, N.C. Wachovia Corp., which has recently revved up its marketing and branding in the wake of the Sept. 1 merger of First Union and the old Wachovia, will sponsor a major golf tournament here a year from now.
May 7 -
A handful of small banks have also struck deals recently that will heighten their name recognition and allow them to cull customers out of massive audiences.
November 4 - Texas
WASHINGTON — Wells Fargo & Co.'s surprise attempt to upend the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s deal to sell most of Wachovia Corp. to Citigroup Inc. could complicate the agency's efforts to save other troubled banks, observers said Friday.
October 6
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Nothing endures but change.
That adage, attributed to the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, came to mind as I was walking around the course of the Wells Fargo Championship. In its tenth year, the PGA Tour event has certainly seen its fair share of change.
Just a few years ago, it was called the Wachovia Championship, a top-notch event at the 18-hole course at Quail Hollow Club meant to lure the biggest names in golf
Wachovia lavished on guests. Its blue and green logo was everywhere, and tournament winners such as Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh had to don a teal jacket as they posed with the crystal championship trophy.
Those days are long gone, a casualty of Wachovia's implosion and
"Has there been change?" was the sarcastic response from a grounds employee at the 18th hole who first worked the event in 2006. "This event has had three different names in the last four years."
Wells Fargo was reluctant to stamp its name on the event when it inherited Wachovia's sponsorship. Activists were up in arms about banks —
Spectators and groundskeepers are keen to the transition, largely because they live in the same city that witnessed Wachovia's rise and fall.
Many know the infamous story of how then Wachovia Chief Executive Ken Thompson juggled his duties as the title sponsor with negotiating his company's ill-fated
As the tournament endured intermittent thunderstorms, Thompson would duck in an out of meetings to hammer out a deal. Top Wachovia executives awaited word from the California thrift while Jim Furyk beat Trevor Immelman in a playoff.
In contrast, the pros seem mostly oblivious to the underlying narrative. The only change specifically discussed during press conferences was the location of the tee on the 17th hole.
"As a player, this event hasn't changed," David Toms, who won the inaugural Wachovia Championship in 2003, said in an interview following Wednesday's pro-am. "It's a venue with a great feel to it. This has always been a class-act event."
Toms gave credit to the event's leadership, led by PGA Tour veteran Kym Hougham, for maintaining a level of stability at the tournament. "We've had the same tournament director throughout," he said.
"This event is every bit as good today as it was on day one," Phil Mickelson, a mainstay on the course since 2004 who was the runner-up to Rory McIlroy two years ago, said when asked about any changes over the past decade. "When this tournament came into existence, it was done right. It didn't need to evolve too much."
It is unclear how long Wells Fargo will stay committed to the tournament. The San Francisco company inherited a four-year extension that Wachovia signed in 2008 despite mounting losses tied to Golden West's mortgage defaults and other issues. Wells Fargo is now on board through 2014, but has been mum on future plans.
"I don't think anyone knows the dynamics of what's going to happen yet," Hougham said in a recent interview with online magazine Charlotte Viewpoint. "We don't know and Wells Fargo doesn't. Wells Fargo needs to decide what they want to do long term [and] Quail Hollow needs to decide what they want to do long-term."
So another transition is possible. Nothing endures but change.
