At a time when sponsorship cash is increasingly hard to come by, BMW’s investment in golf just keeps on motoring along in the fast lane, writes David Facey.
The PGA Tour’s demands for $20million prize funds for their Signature events saw them lose long-term blue-chip backers such as Farmers Insurance, Wells Fargo and Honda.
But in addition to guaranteeing their continued support for the second of the Tour’s three FedEx Cup play-offs – the BMW Championship – the German car giants have increased their financial support for the game, by taking over as title sponsor of the Australian PGA.
That takes their worldwide portfolio to five big tournaments. They also sponsor this week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, the BMW International on home soil, and a LPGA tournament in Korea.
It is a massive commitment. But BMW board member Ilka Horstmeier, responsible for People and Places, says it is a mutually beneficial one.
She explained: “It is now more than forty years of involvement in golf for us, and we are very proud of this legacy.
“It all started with the BMW Golf Cup, for owners and dealers, which is now the biggest worldwide series for amateurs with over 100,000 competitors, and the BMW International has been running since 1989.
“We see golf as being incredibly important, because so many of our customers are interested in the game. We think it is a very good way of interacting in a very casual manner with people.
“It brings people together. That is so important. It’s what we need to see out there – people having fun and enjoying their time together, no matter who they are, or where they come from.
“And of course it is a great opportunity for us to bring fans, customers, and prospective customers to tournaments, and to showcase our product line-up such as our hole in one prize at this year’s championship, the BMW i5 Touring.
“Golf is very big in Australia, and for us it is an important market. So to take over as sponsors of the PGA there is a happy marriage!”
But it is not just players who profit from BMW’s involvement. Their FedEx Cup event has produced jaw-dropping benefits.
All proceeds from the BMW Championship – which have smashed through the $50million barrier since it began in 2007 – go to the Evans Scholars Foundation.
That is a non-profit organisation that meets all the education costs of young caddies from deprived backgrounds. The BMW backing has seen more than 3,000 Evans Scholars graduate from 24 different universities.
In addition BMW has introduced the Eagles for Education scheme at their title tournaments worldwide to support educational programs, donating €1.000 for every eagle made during those events.
With so much emphasis on how greed has dominated golf since LIV started throwing money at the game, it is a heartwarming counterpoint.
Horstmeier added: “It is important that people see it is not only the players who benefit from our commitment to golf.
“The proceeds of the BMW Championship go to no-one else but the Evans Scholars. In addition to ticket sales, if anyone buys a tee-shirt or a souvenir at our tournament it is helping to educate someone from a less privileged background.
“With more than $50 million donated and over 3,00 graduates, those are impressive figures. And these are people who really need our help.
“One of the scholars I met told us a story that was so touching, about being from a home where the father was not around, where his mother had problems with alcohol, and you do not want to hear what else!
“But with the help of the Foundation he managed to rise above that, and become a university graduate. He started caddying, worked hard at school, and showed real ambition to improve his life.
“Those are the criteria the Evans Scholars Foundation demands, and it has proved so successful.
“Our 2024 BMW Championship was held at the beautiful Castle Pines club in Denver, where George Solich is the chairman, and his brother Duffy is also a board member – and they are both Evans Scholars, from very humble backgrounds.
“They are now leaders of their community who are giving back so much to society, as many Evans Scholars are.
“So yes, we feel we can be proud of our long association with golf, and that is why we are still expanding that connection.”
The author, David Facey, has been golf correspondent for ‘The Sun’ for almost 25 years and is a regular contributor to ‘Golf Monthly’.