The DP World Tour and BMW Group have signed an extension to their partnership that will see the leading premium automotive brand BMW remain an Official Partner, and the Official Car, of the DP World Tour until the end of the 2027 season.
As part of the agreement, BMW will also remain as Title Partner until 2027 of both the BMW PGA Championship – a Rolex Series event – and the BMW International Open, where it will remain the promoter of the tournament.
This partnership extension cements BMW as one of the Tour’s longest standing partners. The relationship dates back to 1989, when BMW ran and promoted the first BMW International Open in its hometown of Munich. BMW then became Title Partner of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in 2005.
As an Official Tour Partner, BMW will benefit from highly visible branding and product placement at DP World Tour tournaments each season and across the Tour’s media and digital platforms. BMW will also enjoy access to the Tour’s premium hospitality services and Pro-Ams to create unique customer experiences. As Official Car of the DP World Tour, BMW will continue to supply its luxury high end and fully electric vehicles to the DP World Tour and make a valuable contribution to a sustainable tournament experience for players, staff and fans.
“The close collaboration with the European Tour group, which started back in 1989 with the inaugural BMW International Open, played an important role in the BMW Group becoming one of the most reliable and dedicated partners in international golf. We are delighted to continue along this successful path with the DP World Tour, and to bring innovative developments to both the sport and our events,” said Bernhard Kuhnt, Senior Vice President BMW Group Europe.
“The BMW International Open and the BMW PGA Championship are tournaments that are very popular with golf fans and players alike, thanks to their long tradition and the excellent sporting and BMW brand experience. Based in two core markets in Europe, these events will form important pillars of our worldwide commitment to golf going forward.”
Guy Kinnings, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Commercial Officer of the European Tour group, added: “The BMW brand stands for luxury, innovation, and sportiness – all values that closely match our own and the Tour benefits significantly from partnering with such an iconic brand and respected partner of the game of golf. Over the last 33 years we have developed an extremely close working relationship that continues to drive strong value to BMW’s global engagement in sport.
“With this extended partnership, we will have ample opportunities to use the DP World Tour to showcase both their range of products and our collective leadership credentials in passion areas such as sustainability and technology innovation.
Together, we will also make sure that the BMW PGA Championship and BMW International Open keep innovating to elevate the fan experience and continue to be key moments on the sporting and entertainment calendars in Germany and the UK each year.”
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About the BMW Group
With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. The BMW Group production network comprises 31 production and assembly facilities in 15 countries; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
In 2021, the BMW Group sold over 2.5 million passenger vehicles and more than 194,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the financial year 2021 was €16.1 billion on revenues amounting to €111.2 billion. As of 31 December 2021, the BMW Group had a workforce of 118,909 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company set the course for the future at an early stage and consistently makes sustainability and efficient resource management central to its strategic direction, from the supply chain through production to the end of the use phase of all products.
About the DP World Tour
The DP World Tour is the main men’s professional golf Tour of the European Tour group, with a global schedule featuring a minimum of 39 tournaments in 26 different countries across the 2023 season.
Formerly known as the European Tour, which was established in 1972, the 2023 DP World Tour schedule includes five Rolex Series events, along with four Major Championships, one World Golf Championship event, as well as tournaments staged around the world with a minimum prize of $2million for all events solely sanctioned by the DP World Tour.
The season concludes with the final Rolex Series event, the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, where the winner of the Tour’s season-long competition, the Race to Dubai Rankings in partnership with Rolex, will be crowned.
DP World, the leading provider of global smart end-to-end supply chain and logistics solutions, is the title partner of the DP World Tour, which is administered by the European Tour group.
About the European Tour group
The European Tour group is the overarching corporate brand which administers four competition brands: the DP World Tour, the Challenge Tour, the Legends Tour and, along with the PGA of America, is the Managing Partner of golf’s greatest team contest, the Ryder Cup.
Established in 1972, the European Tour group is committed to ‘Driving Golf Further’ through our guiding principles of being innovative, inclusive and global.
Innovative: We are driving innovation in golf through the creation of award-winning content, pioneering tournament formats and the use of the latest technology and inventive fan engagement. We are committed to attracting new audiences whilst respecting the tradition of our sport.
Inclusive: We are committed to include all who share a love for the game of golf. We are passionate about a closer collaboration with the women’s game, golf for the disabled and promoting the many physical and mental health benefits of playing golf.
Global: Since 1972, players from 38 different countries have won tournaments on our main Tour, while our live broadcast reaches more than 490 million homes in more than 150 countries every week, generating in excess of 2,200 global broadcast hours for each event. We also enjoy the support of many of the world’s leading business brands with DP World, Rolex, BMW, Emirates, Fortinet, Hilton, Velocity Global and Zoom as Official Partners.
The European Tour group has Strategic Alliances with the PGA TOUR, the Sunshine Tour and ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, while we ensure we have a positive long-term impact on the courses, countries and the communities we visit through ‘Golf for Good’, the umbrella name for the European Tour group’s commitment to ‘Driving Golf Further’ in an environmentally and socially sustainable way.