German automotive firm BMW has agreed a five-year deal with the PGA Tour and Western Golf Association to extend its title sponsorship of FedExCup Playoff event the BMW Championship through to 2019.
BMW has sponsored the tournament since 2007 when it became the third of four Playoff events with the introduction of the PGA Tour’s FedExCup Playoffs. During the term of the extension, BMW will also continue to serve as the official vehicle of The Barclays and Tour Championship by Coca-Cola, the first and final FedExCup Playoff events, respectively.
The BMW Championship was named the PGA Tour’s Tournament of the Year in 2012 and 2013. All net proceeds from the Championship conducted by the WGA benefit the Evans Scholars Foundation, which grants full college scholarships to young caddies. Since BMW became title sponsor in 2007, the tournament has contributed more than $16m (€11.7m) to the Evans Scholars Foundation.
“BMW has gone above and beyond our expectations as a partner in the ongoing support of our Evans Scholars Program,” WGA president and chief executive John Kaczkowski said. “Thanks to BMW’s generosity, we’ve been able to send many more deserving golf caddies to college. We’re committed to working with BMW in the years ahead to add to the BMW Championship’s reputation as a leader on the PGA Tour.”
The extension further enhances BMW’s continued global support of golf and follows the recent announcement of the extension of its partnership with the European Tour through 2018 to continue title sponsorship of the BMW International Open in Germany, the BMW Masters in China, and the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
This year’s BMW Championship will be contested from September 4-7 at Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, Colorado. The United States’ Zach Johnson is the reigning champion.