Stewart Cink urged pro golfers to show more support for the sponsors of tournaments by participating in them, especially in these tough economic times.  Cink made his comments from Connecticut on Monday as he was there to promote June’s Travelers Championship at the TPC River Highlands.  The insurance company recently committed to sponsoring the tournament through 2014.

Cink, who is a member of the PGA’s Policy Board thinks not all players understand the importance of participating in tournaments like the Travelers.  Without participation from the top players in the world, tournaments like the Travelers could face being dropped from the schedule (like the Corning Classic).  When top players don’t participate, the tournaments lose revenue in the form of lost ticket and merchandise sales.

This years Travelers tournament wil be played the week after the U.S. Open and already has commitments from Sergio Garcia, Vijay Singh, Anthony Kim, Stuart Appleby and defending champion Stewart Cink.

Officials for the LPGA Tour have said that this years Corning Classic at the Corning Country Club in May will be the last.  The 31 year-old event is the longest running LPGA event with with the same sponsor and played at the same location each year.

A representative for Corning Inc. has said that the inability to replace $500,000 in lost sponsorship revenue is the reason for discontinuing the event.  Basically, the tournament was no longer financially viable.

It will be interesting to see if other LPGA events are discontinued in these troubled times.