Mastercard has extended its partnership with golf’s PGA Tour, while the global payment services company has also agreed a deal to continue sponsoring the Arnold Palmer Invitational event.
Mastercard will continue to serve as the official payment system of the PGA Tour until 2022 as part of its extended agreement with the organisation.
The partnership will continue to provide Mastercard customers with unique golf experiences, access to select PGA Tour tournaments and properties, golf-related savings and offers, and an enhanced payment experience at Tour events.
Mastercard first partnered with the Tour in 1995. The Tour is integrating digital payment service Masterpass and has enabled contactless payments and Qkr! with Masterpass, an app providing a means to order and pay for food and drinks at tournaments throughout the US.
Meanwhile, the company will continue to serve as the presenting sponsor of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the 2017 edition of which begins later today (Thursday) in Bay Hill, Florida.
The tournament is named after golf legend Arnold Palmer, who passed away in September last year. The Arnie’s Army charity foundation will serve as the host organisation for this year’s event.
Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer for Mastercard, said: “As the pinnacle of our PGA Tour partnership, we look forward to continuing to honour Mr Palmer’s legacy through our support of his tournament as well as the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies, and Arnie’s Army.”
Mastercard has served as the presenting sponsor of the event since 2004 and will now continue in the role through the 2020 tournament. Australia’s Jason Day is the defending champion.