Logistics software company Slync.io has reached an agreement with the DP World Tour to terminate its contract as title sponsor of the Dubai Desert Classic.
Slync.io agreed a five-year deal for the $8m Rolex Series tournament, starting at the 33rd renewal of the event in 2022, but the contract has now been ended early.
Slync.io’s chairman and CEO Chris Kirchner has reportedly been suspended from the company amid claims that some of the staff at its headquarters in San Francisco have not been paid on time, while several other financial irregularities were also been investigated after complaints were filed by former employees.
In a report published in The Guardian on September 12, a spokesperson for the DP World Tour commented: “We have reached an agreement with Slync.io regarding the termination of their agreements with us for various DP World Tour assets, including the Dubai Desert Classic title sponsorship. The tournament will continue to be part of the Rolex Series and we look forward to the 2023 edition from January 26-29 at Emirates Golf Club.”
American-born Kirchner, 34, launched Slync.io in 2017, and currently employs 100 staff. Kirchner hit the headlines earlier this year when he failed in a bid to buy Derby County Football Club after funds to pay for the deal failed to arrive before a pre-arranged deadline.
A keen golfer, Kirchner has been seen playing in numerous high profile pro-am tournaments this year, including the JP McManus Pro-Am at Adare Manor in July, LIV Golf’s Pro-Am at Centurion Club in June, and the pro-am before this year’s Dubai Desert Classic in January, where he played with Rory McIlroy.
Justin Rose was announced as a Slync.io ambassador last summer but was not wearing the company’s branding during last week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Other golfers who had deals with the company as members of #TeamSlync include Viktor Hovland, Erik van Rooyen, Jennifer Kupcho, Bernd Wiesberger, Sepp Straka, Albane Valenzuela, and Xinjin Zhang.
