Challenge Tour player Ben Stow has signed a sponsorship deal with St. Mellion Estate that will see him carry a golf bag with the venue’s logo for the next two years.
Stow, who turned professional in 2015, has enjoyed a string of impressive performances on the Challenge Tour recently, following a top-10 finish at the Open de Portugal with a top-five slot at the Swiss Challenge.
“I will be proud to have the St. Mellion Estate logo on my bag,” said the 30-year-old from Wiltshire. “I have had a long-standing relationship with St. Mellion Estate and am honoured to represent them on tour and around the world.”
Stow, who was coached at the St. Mellion Estate PGA Golf Academy and is competing at this week’s British Challenge, which is being over the club’s Jack Nicklaus Signature Course, noted that the sponsorship deal represented a significant step forward in his career and felt optimistic the partnership had the potential to develop further over time.
“It’s huge for me,” he said. “It’s the kind of relationship that I hope I can develop with St. Mellion Estate, building an even stronger partnership between player and sponsor. Clearly the financial support will be a tremendous help over the next two years while I endeavour to achieve my golfing goals.”
The ambassadorial role with Stow is the first time the West Country resort has officially aligned itself with a player on the European stage.
“St. Mellion has a proud heritage, especially when it comes to establishing the reputations of some of the biggest names in golf,” said David Moon, St Mellion’s Director of Golf. “The idea of formalising a relationship with a European Tour professional has been discussed at various times, but as we monitored Ben’s progress, the team was convinced he would be a good fit especially given his existing association with the resort.”
He continued: “St. Mellion Estate has established itself as one of the leading golf resorts in the UK and is a 12-time European Tour venue. We wanted to align ourselves with a player who could embody that standard and help us build on the legacy created by Jack Nicklaus. We are thrilled to announce that Ben Stow will be our new St. Mellion ambassador.”
Not surprisingly, the return of elite golf to the legendary Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course has been eagerly awaited by golf fans and players alike. “Hosting a European Tour event again at St. Mellion Estate has been a goal of ours for quite some time,” said Moon. “And it will be especially pleasing to have our logo represented on a player’s bag for the first time and welcome golf fans from around the country to enjoy this exciting event.”