AIB Group, Rolex to join PING as Global Partners
SUGAR GROVE, Ill., March 10, 2008 – Officials from the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and Ladies European Tour (LET) announced today that The Solheim Cup will operate under a new platform with a select group of Global Partners at the 2009 and 2011 Solheim Cup competitions. AIB Group and Rolex have committed to join PING, the founding sponsor of The Solheim Cup, as Global Partners to the most prestigious international team event in women’s professional golf.
As Global Partners, AIB Group and Rolex will join PING with top positioning related to the event onsite and in advertising leading up to The Solheim Cup. All three logos will appear onsite at the 2009 Solheim Cup at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill., and again at the 2011 Solheim Cup at Killeen Castle in County Meath,Ireland.
As announced last September, PING will continue its support of The Solheim Cup for the next eight years and will include the 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015 Solheim Cup competitions.
“We are pleased to announce The Solheim Cup will operate with a select group of distinguished global partners who will cross over between multiple Solheim Cup events,” said LPGA Commissioner Carolyn F. Bivens. “This new platform enables longer term planning and more robust activation of the sponsorship in the year of competition and the off year. We welcome Rolex and AIB Group to the family that includes the LPGA, the LET and our founding partner, PING.”
“We are delighted to announce The Solheim Cup’s new Global Partnership and welcome AIB Group and Rolex, who join PING, to the most prestigious and exciting international team event in women’s golf,” said Alexandra Armas, executive director of the LET. “PING, the founding sponsor of The Solheim Cup, has allowed the event to grow to the major level that we see today. With the addition of AIB Group and Rolex as Global Partners to the event, we can look forward to continuing the success of The Solheim Cup for many years to come.”
Rolex’s elevated Global Partner role with The Solheim Cup is a natural extension of their support both in the United States and Europe for the past four Solheim Cup events and adds to the companies’ extensive history and involvement in the sport of golf around the world and its dedication to women’s golf in particular.
“The Solheim Cup is one of the world’s premier sporting events. Through our healthy partnership with the LET and LPGA, and now as a Solheim Cup Global Partner, Rolex can further reinforce its goal of being associated with the best in golf,” said Jean-Noel Bioul, head of international sponsorship, Rolex SA.
The partnership with AIB Group marks the first time the company will support women’s professional golf after more than 10 years of involvement with men’s professional and amateur golf. AIB Group sponsored the Ryder Cup in 2006 and also sponsors the AIB Ladies Irish Open on the LET.
Colm Doherty, Managing Director, AIB Capital Markets said: ” We look forward to working in partnership with Rich Harvest Farms Chicago in 2009, Killeen Castle Ireland in 2011 and the LET and LPGA in making the most highly coveted prize in women’s professional golf a great display of skill, camaraderie and competition.”
For more information on the 2009 Solheim Cup, including tickets, a schedule of events, hotels and accommodations, log on to www.SolheimCup.com. Fans from around the world can purchase tickets atwww.solheimcup.com or by phone at 866-848-4639. A hotel reservation network has been established to accommodate spectator’s hotel needs in surrounding communities of Aurora, Naperville and throughout DuPage and Kane Counties.
About AIB Group
AIB Group is Ireland’s leading banking and financial services organization, operating principally in Ireland,Britain, Poland and the USA, and employing more than 23,000 people worldwide.
Since April 1, 2003, AIB’s retail and commercial main operations in the US are carried out through its interest in M&T Bank Corporation (‘M&T’). M&T is headquartered in Buffalo, New York and has a branch network of approximately 700 branches in six states and the District of Columbia. AIB’s direct presence in the USconsists of corporate banking, treasury and financial services for not-for-profit businesses based in New York, with offices in a number of other principal US cities.
About Rolex
Rolex of Geneva is one of the world’s foremost watchmakers, with an unrivalled reputation for quality craftsmanship. Since its inception in 1905, the privately owned company has introduced a series of revolutionary innovations, starting with the first truly waterproof watch, the Oyster, in 1926 and the first self-winding watch in 1931. To ensure the precision of the more than 170 Oyster models, each Rolex chronometer undergoes a year-long production process supported by rigorous quality-control procedures. Some 4,000 watchmakers – at Rolex headquarters in Geneva, at more than 20 international subsidiaries and at authorised Rolex dealers around the world – comprise an unparalleled after-sales service network, ensuring continued technical excellence. Chief Executive Officer Patrick Heiniger, the company’s third CEO since its creation, guides Rolex’s nearly 6,000 employees worldwide.
About The Solheim Cup
The Solheim Cup is named in honor of Karsten Solheim, and his family, the makers of PING golf equipment. The Solheim Cup is the most prestigious international team event in women’s professional golf. It is a biennial, trans-Atlantic team match-play competition featuring the best U.S.-born players from the LPGA and the best European-born players from the LET. The U.S. Team leads the competition, 7-3, and has never lost on home soil. The 2009 Solheim Cup will and be played at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill., Aug. 21-23. In addition to founding sponsor PING, Global Partners of The Solheim Cup include AIB Group and Rolex. For more information, log on to www.SolheimCup.com.
Contact:
Connie Wilson/Mike Scanlan, LPGA, 386.274.6200, connie.wilson@lpga.com/mike.scanlan@lpga.com
Bethan Cutler, LET, +44 (0) 7980056045, bcutler@ladieseuropeantour.com
