Dubai: Dubai Duty Free (DDF) has become an official partner of golf’s European Tour after signing a four-year deal, it was announced on Monday.
The agreement follows DDF’s extension as title sponsors of the Irish Open up until 2022.
Colm McLoughlin, executive vice-chairman and chief executive officer of Dubai Duty Free, said: “We are pleased to join a stellar list of companies to become an official partner of the European Tour. We have identified marketing opportunities for our brand across several tournaments as well as digital elements that will enable us to engage with our global customers. We are very excited about this partnership going forward and believe it will enhance our existing sponsorship portfolio.”
Keith Pelley, chief executive officer of the European Tour, said: “Dubai Duty Free have been invaluable partners to the European Tour through their title sponsorship of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.
“This agreement marks an important evolution of our partnership and we are thrilled to welcome Dubai Duty Free to the European Tour Official Partner family. We look forward to working closely with them in future to build their brand awareness and achieve their goal of supporting sport globally.”
Last year, the European Tour elevated eight events to Rolex Series status with each of the eight carrying a minimum US$7 million prize fund and benefiting from significant enhancements from fan experience to digital content.
The Dubai Duty Free Irish Open was one of those tournaments, marking another milestone since the DDF first started supporting the event in 2015. DDF’s association with golf started in 1989 when they supported the UAE’s first event on tour, the Dubai Desert Classic. They also supported the tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship event from inception in 2009, before backing the Irish Open in 2015.
DDF also support the Dubai Tennis Championships and horse racing’s Irish Derby.
