Special Guest PGA TOUR Professional Luke Donald
Chicago, IL – June 26, 2006â?¦ BMW today announced a six-year partnership agreement with the PGA TOUR and the Western Golf Association (WGA) to create the BMW Championship – the third of four PGA TOUR Playoff tournaments that culminate with the new FedExCup competition that debuts in 2007. Tom Purves, Chairman and CEO, BMW of North America and Jan-Christiaan Koenders, Director, BMW Brand Communications, were joined by PGA TOUR Chief Marketing Officer Tom Wade, Western Golf Association President Richard E. Peterson, and PGA TOUR professional Luke Donald at Grant Park in Chicago for the announcement.
"BMW is delighted to announce this partnership with the PGA TOUR and the Western Golf Association. The partnership reinforces BMW’s global three pillar sports marketing strategy," said Koenders. "The strategy includes partnership agreements with the US America’s Cup sailing team, BMW Oracle Racing, the BMW Sauber F1 Team and now the prestigious PGA TOUR."
"Globally, BMW has aligned itself with the premiere performance-driven sports," continued Koenders. "Just as the America’s Cup and Formula 1 represent the pinnacle in their respective arenas, the US golf market is the largest in the world. For more than 20 years, BMW has been involved in international golf. Golf represents excellence, precision, aesthetic appeal and a cultivated lifestyle. This new partnership exemplifies BMW’s ongoing commitment to the advancement and legacy of the sport."
"It is an exciting time to announce a partnership with the PGA TOUR. The world of professional golf in the US is undergoing progressive developments and BMW is proud to be part of those historic changes," said Tom Purves, Chairman and CEO, BMW of North America. "Through this partnership, BMW will seek to enhance the already tremendous experience associated with this competition."
Mr. Purves, Mr. Koenders along with Mr. Wade and Mr. Peterson, announced today that the inaugural BMW Championship will be played the week of September 3 – 9 next year at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in Chicago, Illinois. It was also announced that starting in 2008 the BMW Championship will travel to some of the premiere golf courses in the Midwest every other year. The BMW Championship will be played in St. Louis at the Bellerive Country Club in 2008, return to Chicago in 2009 and every second year thereafter, in Indianapolis at the Crooked Stick Golf Club in 2010 and at a yet to be determined location in the Midwest in 2012.
"The PGA TOUR is looking forward to working with BMW, an organization that shares our commitment to outstanding performance and excellence," said Tim Finchem, PGA TOUR Commissioner. "The new PGA TOUR Playoffs, which will determine the ultimate champion in our new season-long FedExCup competition, will be a tremendous enhancement to the PGA TOUR, and we welcome BMW as an important and strong partner in this venture."
"Chicago is often viewed as America’s top golfing community," said Richard E. Peterson, Western Golf Association President. "We are looking forward to working with BMW and the PGA TOUR to make the BMW Championship an historic event for players and fans alike. In addition, we are excited about taking the championship to clubs and communities outside of the Chicago area that have long supported the Evans Scholars Program. As we maintain a biennial presence in Chicago, we will have an opportunity to expand support of the championship, and of our scholarship program, in other regions of the Midwest."
Besides the new engagement with the BMW Championship, BMW is also the "Official Vehicle" at the Barclays Classic, and The TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, which follows the BMW Championship as the final event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs.
Since 1985, BMW has been paying tribute to the growing importance of golf by hosting and partnering with both leading amateur and professional tournaments around the globe. In cooperation with the PGA European Tour, BMW hosts the most prestigious tournament on the European Tour – the BMW Championship in Wentworth (Surrey, England). For the world’s top tier players, the BMW International Open (hosted in Munich, Germany) and the BMW Asian Open (hosted in Shanghai, China) are also among the most recognized professional tournaments on the European and Asian Tours. Furthermore, BMW will have the honor of being the "Official Car" of the 2006 Ryder Cup.
BMW is committed to enhancing the overall consumer PGA TOUR experience tied to BMW’s events and plans to announce further details regarding consumer involvement and benefits in the coming months.
BMW will honor the Western Golf Association’s legacy of significant charitable involvement, working directly with the Evans Scholars Foundation, the largest privately funded college scholarship program for caddies in the nation. Since the first two Scholars enrolled at Northwestern University in 1930, nearly 8,000 outstanding young adults have participated in the program, which provides financial assistance to caddies around the country seeking opportunities to pursue higher education.
In 1950, there were only 84 Scholars enrolled in the Evans Scholars Foundation, but the program grew dramatically thereafter. By the end of the decade, the number of participating Scholars rose to 440. Today, 820 Evans Scholars are enrolled in college. The Foundation, which is referred to as "Golf’s Favorite Charity," has more than 100,000 annual contributors through the Western Golf Association.
"As a PGA TOUR player, I am extremely excited about BMW’s involvement. In particular, I am very pleased to hear that the new partnership with BMW will mean a significant increase in the level of funding to the Evans Scholars Foundation. As the largest college scholarship program for deserving caddies, the Evans Scholars program is near and dear to my heart and to the hearts of many PGA TOUR players," said Luke Donald. "This partnership is going to be great for the WGA, great for the players, great for the spectators and great for the game of golf."
BMW Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand, the MINI brand, and the ROLLS-ROYCE brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, an industrial design firm in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all Z4 models and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 339 BMW passenger car centers, 334 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 143 BMW motorcycle retailers, 80 MINI passenger car dealers, and 30 ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North, Central and South America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the Internet at:
www.bmwgroupna.com
www.bmwusa.com
www.bmwmotorradusa.com
www.miniusa.com
www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com
www.bmw-golfsport.com
Contact:
BMW NA
Karen VonderMeulen
Marketing and Events Communications
phone: 201-307-3788
email: Karen.VonderMeulen@bmwna.com
BMW AG
Michael Kirsch
Public Relations
phone: +49 89-382-25111
email: Michael.Kirsch@bmw.de
PGA TOUR
Chris Smith
Public Relations
phone: 904-273-3379
email: Csmith@pgatourhq.com
Western Golf Association – WGA
Gary Holaway
Communications
phone: 847-724-4600 ext. 221
email: holaway@wgaesf.com
