South Korean broadcaster SBS has agreed a new 10-year title sponsorship deal for the PGA Tour’s season-opening event at Kapalua, Hawaii. SBS replaces existing sponsor Mercedes-Benz after 2010.
The International Herald Tribune newspaper reports that PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said, “We don’t do a lot of these announcements during the Players, but we’re particularly excited about this one.”
The Tour’s sponsor roster includes several automotive and financial services companies - sectors which have been hit particularly hard during the economic downturn. The sponsors include Mercedes, Buick, Chrysler and Stanford Financial. The tour has recently renewed sponsorship deals with Zurich Financial and Accenture.
SBS, which has previously been title sponsor of an LPGA event in Hawaii, has broadcast the PGA Tour in Korea for the past 15 years.
