SPECIAL FEATURE
ROLEX AND GOLF NO OTHER LUXURY WATCH BRAND HAS AN AFFINITY WITH THE GAME QUITE LIKE ROLEX, WHOSE SUPPORT OVER THE PAST 46 YEARS HAS HELPED REVOLUTIONIZE SPONSORSHIP IN SPORT. .
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n 1967, Arnold Palmer became a Rolex The brand is also the official partner of the USGA, ambassador, marking the start of the brand’s the European Tour and title sponsors the world association with golf. Today, the Rolex roster rankings in the women’s game. of golf sponsorships has In recent times Rolex has grown to include the been very much behind the The link with golf names of some of the drive to bring golf into China in China has been game’s best known players. Despite the long heritage extended to the WGC- and traditions associated with Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Tiger Woods, Golf in West, just over 25 years HSBC Champions, Phil Mickleson, Adam Scott, ago, the sport was practically which was completed non-existent in China. In 2010 Martin Kaymer and Annika earlier this month and Rolex signed a partnership Sorenstam are among the proud athletes to wear one of agreement with the China Golf which Rolex features the brand’s luxury timepieces Association and sponsored as an official sponsor. the first official translation of away from the fairways. The relationship has also the Rules of Golf into Chinese. grown to include major golfing competition It marked a determination by the brand, not just and for 30 years Rolex has been the sponsor and to be associated with sport but to further its reach official timekeeper of the Open Championship. into what is the world’s fastest growing nation.
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This link with China has been extended to the WGC-HSBC Champions, which was completed earlier this month and which Rolex features as an official sponsor. The tournament started life in 2005 when England’s David Howell held off the challenge of Tiger Woods at Sheshan Golf Club in Shanghai, the venue for all but one of the tournaments, to be crowned the inaugural champion. The following year, Korea’s YE Yang, who would later become the first Asian winner of a major championship, emerged victorious (again with Woods in the field) with a brilliant display of putting. 2007 saw Phil Mickelson – a frequent visitor to the tournament – claim the title for the first time, while Spain’s Sergio Garcia held his nerve 12 months later for success. Mickelson became the first two-time winner of the championship in 2009, the first year the event was accorded World Golf Championship status, HKGOLFER.COM
after being pushed all the way by Ernie Els, while Italy’s Francesco Molinari picked up the biggest cheque of his career with a gutsy win in 2010. The last two tournaments have been no less thrilling, with Martin Kaymer showing the kind of form that earned him the US PGA Championship in his 2011 victory, while colourful Englishman Ian Poulter, the hero of the European team’s Ryder Cup success of 2012, put on a fantastic display to win the title at Mission Hills 12 months ago.
Clockwise from opposite: Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters champion, has been a long-time Rolex testimonee; the brand’s support for the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament in China has grown from strength to strength HK GOLFER・NOV 2013
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