THE AUSTRIAN OPEN will remain on golf’s European Tour schedule for the next three years after securing a new title sponsor this week.
Austria-based affinity card supplier Lyoness has agreed to contribute a minimum of €1 million in prize money for each year of the initial contract.
Under the terms of the deal, Lyoness will also become an Official Supplier to the European Tour, with a particular focus on supporting the Tour’s sustainability programme.
Lyoness is committed to driving charitable investment back into sustainability projects, and the company will work closely with its own Greenfinity Foundation alongside the European Tour and the Golf Environment Organisation (GEO) in developing the Tour’s programme of support for sustainability in and around tournaments.
The investment from Lyoness comes at a time when the European Tour is struggling to find sponsors. The Czech Open, for example, was cancelled last week as a result of financial difficulties – the third tour event to be scrapped this year because of such problems.
Keith Waters, director of international policy of the European Tour, said: "The European market is very challenging for us, so this announcement is particularly gratifying."
Mathias Vorbach, Director of Marketing and Communications for Lyoness, led contract negotiations on the brand side.
By Luke Harman
Follow Luke on Twitter: @lukeharmanSBG