Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation has renewed its title sponsorship of the Singapore Open golf tournament.
The event, which is jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Japan Golf Tour Organisation, will continue to be known as the SMBC Singapore Open until 2021 as part of the new three-year deal.
The deal was signed ahead of the start of the 2018 event today (Thursday) at the Sentosa Golf Club. SMBC’s previous three-year deal was due to expire after this year’s event.
Shosuke Mori, senior managing executive officer at SMBC, said: “Singapore continues to be a key component of our global strategies and the country’s national Open provides us with the perfect way to connect with our audience. Furthermore, we hope the tournament acts to further promote the popularity of golf throughout Asia, as well as inspiring a new generation of players.”
Event organiser the Singapore Golf Association also announced an extension of its partnership with tournament promoter Lagardère Sports until 2021.
Thailand’s Prayad Marksaeng (pictured) is the defending Singapore Open champion. Major winners Sergio Garcia and Louis Oosthuizen are among the players competing at this year’s event, which will have a prize fund of $1m (€818,000).
The new deal with SMBC secures the immediate future of the event, which was not held from 2013 to 2015 due to the absence of a title sponsor. Financial services company Barclays had sponsored the event until 2012.