Ireland’s first major new sporting sponsor of 2016 has been revealed with the Davy Group signing up to a two year sponsorship agreement with Irish golf sensation Paul Dunne.
The 23-year-old sprang to prominence at the 2015 Open Championship at St Andrews, where he led after 54 holes, the youngest amateur in 88 years to do so. A rain delay meant that his image and story became worldwide news and he has backed that up since by turning professional and winning his place on the full European Tour.
The partnership will see Dunne wear the Davy Group logo on his clothing, and they will work closely together, including Davy helping him look at his future financial planning needs as he develops his career as a professional golfer.
“For over 90 years Davy has consistently invested in talent and ambition to deliver the best results for our clients,” said Brian McKiernan, CEO of the Davy Group.
“As an Irish owned business we are delighted to support Paul as he begins his journey to compete with the best golfers in the world and continue a proud tradition of Irish golfing success”.
Dunne already has experience of handling the needs of a sponsor. A major part of his story last July was that he was kitted out in the same Under Armour gear as World number one Jordan Spieth but that as an amateur he was wearing it because he had been given it and received no financial compensation.
As it happened it was a major boost to his global profile and so was worth more than a mere case consideration but it is in negotiating those deals in future that Davy will be able to play a real role in helping their knowledge work as part of the partnership.
Dunne is currently playing in South Africa and is expected to be a major draw when the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open comes to the K Club later in the year.
