Accounting firm Grant Thornton has agreed a five-year deal to become an official marketing partner of golf’s PGA Tour.
Grant Thornton has also been named as a partner of the Players Championship in a five-year deal, and agreed a separate partnership with Rickie Fowler, currently golf’s world No.7.
Grant Thornton will benefit from brand exposure during broadcasts of the Players Championship on the Golf Channel as part of its sponsorship of the event, which is considered to be golf's unofficial fifth major.
The company will also have a presence on the course and in hospitality venues during the tournament. The partnership will be extended nationally at select PGA Tour events.
As part of its sponsorship of Fowler (pictured), Grant Thornton’s logo will appear on the 28-year-old’s shirt in all competitive rounds on the PGA Tour and in other professional appearances from next year. Fowler will also appear in Grant Thornton’s national advertising campaign in 2018.
John Harmeling, chief marketing officer at Grant Thornton, told the Forbes business news website: “Golf matters to the people we do business with.
"We did an incredible amount of research before entering into these relationships, and learned that PGA Tour fans and viewers dramatically over-index against our target audience, more so than any other sport – and by a material margin.”
The deal comes after Fowler won the Hero World Challenge PGA Tour event in the Bahamas on Sunday.
The 2018 Players Championship takes place from May 7-13 at TPC Sawgrass in Florida.