April 11, 2008

PERU, IN — The 2008 Carl Spackler Open Championship bumped its field to 72 golfers back in mid-March with additions from Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. With funding due in the mail very soon, the season of withdraws opens today.

"Our latest information suggests an annual withdrawal rate of 7.4 percent," says CFO Rick Dosky. "This data encompasses the last 4 years and equal to 6 golfers. The choices to skip and excuses for withdrawal consists mostly of last-minute wedding plans and conflicts with employment. It is pretty unfortunate that our proactive scheduling is not enough for some."

The business office received the first withdrawal from Jerry Long in March. Brad Carder quickly replaced him. The office expects 4 or 5 cancellations within the next two weeks as final payments are due.

Withdrawals generally start from the short list of non-respondents to the annual participant option process. This year resulted in a full collection, which suggests the cancellation rate might dip.

"The withdrawal season ripens as outstanding balances drop below $15,000," says CFO Rick Dosky. "The tournament never expects everyone to attend, however hope for a zero percent withdrawal rate each and every year. The average withdrawal rate of 7.4% soared in recent years. We take initial deposits to curb the withdraw rate, but often wonder what would happen without non-refundable deposits."

The 2007 tournament included a withdrawal rate of 9.3 percent. The 2006 event experienced 9.4 percent cancel. The Mountain Valley tournament included a record-high withdrawal rate of 10.3 percent. The Tanglewood Park event experienced a low 4.0 percent withdrawal rate. The first 3 tournaments in 2001-2003 experienced zero withdrawals.

"The current waiting list has two fully funded golfers," says Rick Dosky. "As a collective group, we will replace cancellations with received checks of $359.00. I am looking forward to posting checks this coming week. A very clean collection would move tournament planning into an early pairing and roommate release."

The 2008 Carl Spackler Open Championship begins play in 54 days. The Welcome Party at Homer's Sports Bar is scheduled after the annual practice round with shuttle bus service.