BMW of North America has extended its ties to golf, scoring a hole in one by inking a six-year deal to create its own golf tournament slated to hit courses next year.
The deal pairs BMW with the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour and the Western Golf Association to offer the championship round, the third leg of four PGA Tour playoff tournaments that are part of the new FedExCup competition, which begins next year.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The inaugural BMW Championship will be played for a week in September 2007 at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in Chicago. Beginning in 2008, the tournament will travel to golf courses in the Midwest every other year. The championship will be played in St. Louis at the Bellerive Country Club in 2008, before returning to Chicago in 2009.
In addition to the championship, BMW is the official vehicle at the PGA’s Barclays Classic, and of the Tour Championship presented by Coca-Cola, which will follow the BMW Championship as the final event in the PGA Tour Playoffs.
“This really is a perfect opportunity for the BMW brand, which has been engaged in golf for the last 20 years at both the amateur and professional level,” said Tom Salkowsky, manager of experiential marketing, BMW. “A lot of analysis shows that our dealers and owners play the game readily and as a competitive set view the game…as the most interesting game in sport.”
BMW’s goal was to capture a pinnacle position in the sport that ties well into its other sports sponsorships, Salkowsky said.
Since 1985, BMW has partnered with amateur and professional golf tournaments worldwide: BMW hosts the BMW Championship in Wentworth, England, the BMW International Open in Munich, Germany, and the BMW Asian Open in Shanghai, China. In addition, BMW will be the official car of golf’s 2006 Ryder Cup in September.
“We feel as though the partnership with the PGA Tour fulfills that missing link,” Salkowsky said.
The automaker will work with its internal staff, as well as with marketing agency Octagon to enhance the brand at the golf tournament, he added.
Woodcliff Lake, NJ-based BMW plans to provide further details regarding the championship in coming months.
Network
