European Senior Tour secures first title sponsor

UK-based travel insurance company Staysure has been named as the first title sponsor of golf’s European Senior Tour.

The renamed Staysure Tour will include a new headline event, the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship, which will feature a prize fund of £400,000 (€454,000/$535,000).

The European Tour’s agreement with Staysure, a specialist in the over-50s market, will run for 10 years and lead to the rebranding of all of the Senior Tour’s physical and media assets.

As part of the agreement, a new Staysure membership programme will launch, offering over-50s discounts and benefits on travel insurance and golf insurance packages. Other perks of the membership will include tickets to events, Pro-Am playing places, signed merchandise and discounts to other European Tour events.

Keith Pelley, chief executive of the European Tour, said: “Today’s announcement is testament to the strength and popularity of the senior game in Europe. Its success is evident through its continued expansion internationally as well as the calibre of player it now attracts.”

Ryan Howsam, founder and chairman of Staysure, added: “Many Staysure customers share our love of golf and this is the perfect opportunity for us to engage them on a new level. With over 500,000 over 50s travelling abroad to play golf each year, the partnership strikes the perfect chord for our customers and tops off a successful year for Staysure.”

The Staysure Tour will feature 19 tournaments in 2018, with new events to be held in Russia, Spain and Denmark, as well as the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship, details of which have not yet been announced.