Genesis named new title sponsor of LA PGA Tour tournament

Genesis, the luxury car brand of Korean automotive manufacturer Hyundai, has been named the new title sponsor of the PGA Tour golf event at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, California.

From next year, the event will take on the official title of the Genesis Open. The news follows the announcement in January that Hyundai had signed on as the tournament’s title sponsor, with Genesis now having been assigned rights to the event. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Genesis represents a unique and different approach to automotive luxury and the Genesis Open is an ideal platform to share our vision, dynamic vehicles and personalised ownership experience,” Erwin Raphael, general manager of the Genesis brand in the US market, said. “This tournament is one of the most prominent on the PGA Tour and is played at one of the world's best courses, so it was a natural fit for our first major sports marketing program.”

Hyundai assumed title sponsorship rights from financial services company Northern Trust, with the tournament having been known as the Northern Trust Open from 2008 to 2016. This year’s event took place from February 18-21, with American Bubba Watson (pictured) claiming his second title in three years.

Hyundai replaced Northern Trust after the latter announced that it would switch its PGA Tour sponsorship from the west to the east coast of the US and replace rival bank Barclays as the title sponsor of the first FedExCup Playoff tournament held annually in the New York and New Jersey area as part of a deal that begins in 2017.

The 2017 Genesis Open will take place from February 13-19. The tournament will be organised by the Tiger Woods Foundation after the 14-time major winner's community-focused venture agreed a deal with Hyundai earlier this year.