Next Week's Buick Open Is Last Buick Open

((HT: ESPN))

Next week's Buick Open ((pictured, thanks Gregory Shamus/Getty)) , one of the oldest events on the PGA Tour, will be the final version of the event, with General Motors pulling its sponsorship after 51 years, Golfweek reported.

Tom Pernice Jr., a member of the Tour's Player Advisory Council, and a second, unnamed source, said the Tour planned to formally announce a new sponsor and venue the week after the July 30-Aug. 2 tournament is played, according to the report.

Pernice said he could not identify the new sponsor, but confirmed that next week's Buick Open will be the last. Tiger Woods is in the field for the tournament, which starts Thursday at Warwick Hills Golf Club in Grand Blanc, Mich

"Buick doesn't have the finances; GM can't afford it," Pernice said, according to the report. "From a perception standpoint, you can't lay off all those people and then sponsor a golf tournament."

"They've supported us forever. It's been a huge part of the Tour. I think a lot of people knew the writing was on the wall," Pernice told Golfweek.

Larry Peck, Buick-GMC's national promotions manager, acknowledged that difficult decisions lay ahead but "nothing has been finalized" about the Buick Open, according to the report. "Right now, we're concentrating on putting on a world-class event," he said to Golfweek.

The decision also raises questions about the Buick Invitational, which is held early in the season at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego and has been sponsored by the automaker since 1992. The sponsorship contracts for both tournaments run through 2010, Golfweek reported.

"Golf's been a huge part of our DNA," Peck said, according to the report. "We're having to make some hard decisions."

Scott Verplank, who won the event in 1988, is among a number of players who heard of its reported demise at this weekend's Canadian Open, according to Golfweek.

"It's one of my favorite tournaments, and I would hate to lose it," Verplank said, according to the report. "They've had a tough time, and there's nothing you can do about it."