Humana's Last Stand In Desert; Clinton Foundation Continuing

Larry Bohannan writing for the Desert Sun considers the future of the tournament formally known as the Hope which starts Thursday, where Bill Clinton and his foundation remain committed to the event while Humana's CEO change sounds as if it led to the corporation's decision to make this its last year sponsoring a PGA Tour event.

Clinton talked at length with Bohannan and exposed a shocking amount of awareness of the event field, the dynamics of luring players and the progress the event has made despite not landing a top 10 player or Tiger Woods.

"Something has happened in each of the last three years," Clinton said. "One year it was the presidential inauguration that took me away. I want to be there at the end, so I am really looking forward to it."

Last year, Clinton placed a phone call to Humana winner Patrick Reed just as Reed was preparing to meet the media after his victory.

"He had a remarkable year, even though he had his ups and downs," Clinton said of Reed. "People gave him a little grief for saying he could be one of the top-five best players in the world, but there is no question that he can be if he just keeps going."

This year Clinton will be on hand for the trophy ceremony, followed by two days of the Health Matters event.

And here's where Clinton slips in a suggestion that the new CEO, Bruce Broussard, who was definitely not as committed as the previous Humana leader, Mike McCallister, who saw the brilliant synergy of desert golf, Clinton Health Matters and Humana's interest in wellness.

"We are going to land on our feet on that. The PGA is working this hard, and I have done a little work on it, and I feel like we'll be fine," Clinton said about new sponsorship for 2016. "I am grateful to Humana. You know they have new leadership and they have the right to have new priorities. We'll figure out how to replace them, and they still want to stay involved in some way."

In another story, Bohannan suggests the Affordable Healthcare Act was part of the company rethinking its marketing strategy. Though it was hard not to see the change in leadership as the ultimate deathnell for Humana.

Up next is finding a new sponsor and perhaps a shift in where charity dollars go, something that has concerned some longtime locals.

Part of what made Humana’s time at the tournament different is that the healthcare company, along with the Clinton Foundation, was promoting an agenda of health and well being rather than trying to raise funds for a specific charity or series of charities. The tournament still raises money for local charities, handing out more than $800,000 this year to 40 charities, including Eisenhower Medical Center. But the message from Humana was more about personal health and taking control of one’s own health.