Dubai Duty Free its commitment to the European Tour and the development of worldwide golf, becoming an Official Partner to the Tour in a four-year agreement.
The Official Partnership follows the announcement in May that Dubai Duty Free has extended its title sponsorship of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in a similar deal, which will take the naming rights of the event, taking place this week in Ballyliffin in County Donegal through to 2022.
Dubai Duty Free is the sixth Official Partner of the European Tour, joining Rolex, BMW, Emirates, Hilton and Titleist.
Each of the brands features at key European Tour events, and across the European Tour’s platforms, including its award-winning social media channels.
“We are pleased to join a stellar list of companies to become an official partner of European Tour,” said Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice-Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free.
“We have identified marketing opportunities for our brand across several tournaments as well as digital elements that will enable us to engage with our global customers. We are very excited about this partnership going forward and believe it will enhance our existing sponsorship portfolio.”
That portfolio includes the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with the ATP and the WTA in the Spring, and the prestigious Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby held at the Curragh this past weekend for the 11th time under the sponsors banner.
Read our Interview on Dubai Duty Free’s Sponsorship with Sinead El Sibai
“Dubai Duty Free have been invaluable partners to the European Tour through their title sponsorship of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open,” added Keith Pelley, Chief Executive Officer of the European Tour.
“This agreement marks an important evolution of our partnership and we are thrilled to welcome Dubai Duty Free to the European Tour Official Partner family.”
“We look forward to working closely with them in future to build their brand awareness and achieve their goal of supporting sport globally.”
In 2017, the European Tour heralded a new era for the game as eight prestigious events were elevated to Rolex Series status, each event carrying a minimum US$7 million prize fund and benefiting from significant enhancements across the board – from fan experience to digital content.
The Dubai Duty Free Irish Open was one of those tournaments, marking another milestone in the event’s extensive growth since Dubai Duty Free came on board in 2015, along with Rory McIlroy and his charitable foundation as tournament hosts.
Their title sponsorship of Ireland’s national Open was the culmination of a long and fruitful relationship with the European Tour which began back in 1989, when the United Arab Emirates city was first put on the golfing map with the introduction of the Dubai Desert Classic.
This has since grown substantially with the season-ending Race to Dubai.
