Luxury car manufacturer BMW has pledged to continue its financial support of European golf following the announcement that it has extended its headline sponsorship of its two European Tour events, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and the BMW International Open in Germany, for the next four years.
BMW’s association with the European Tour dates back to the first BMW International Open in 1989. The tournament celebrated its 30th edition earlier this year and will return to Golfclub München Eichenried from June 20-23, 2019, with BMW continuing as title sponsor for a further four years.
Later in the year, BMW will then celebrate its 15th anniversary as title sponsor of the BMW PGA Championship, with the Rolex Series event at Wentworth Club moving to a new date of September 19-22.
The premium car brand has also extended its partnership with the Ryder Cup. Having been an official partner of the bi-annual matches since 2006, it will now continue its association at Whistling Straits in 2020 and Marco Simone in Italy in 2022.
Bernhard Kuhnt, President and CEO of BMW in North America, said: “We are delighted to join forces with Ryder Cup Europe and the PGA of America in a shared mission to drive golf’s top international event to even greater heights. As a supporter of golf globally for the past 30 years, golf remains the perfect platform for our brand to engage our network of owners, dealers and golf fans across the world.”
Keith Pelley, chief executive of the European Tour, said: “We could not be happier than to have BMW as our official partner for another four years. They have shown fantastic commitment to the European Tour for 30 years, and have always had the best interests of the game at heart.
“It is why tournaments such as the BMW PGA Championship and the BMW International Open are so highly regarded by players and fans alike. Everything BMW does represents class and quality and we are delighted to be associated with them. We hope our partnership continues for many years to come.”
Top picture: Thomas Bjørn, Keith Pelley and Francesco Molinari with The Ryder Cup (Getty Images)