Canada’s only PGA Tour tournament is safe for at least another six years after RBC announced it has renewed its title sponsorship of the event.
“Our sponsorship of the Canadian Open is important to us,” said Mary DePaoli, chief brand and communications officer at RBC. “But beyond the business and brand benefits, it is essential to RBC to be giving back to communities through important charities.”
The deal sees RBC sponsor the tournament through 2023. The current deal with Golf Canada and the PGA Tour ends in 2018. RBC also sponsors the Heritage Classic in South Carolina, and will renew it as well.
Scott Simmons, the chief executive of Golf Canada, called RBC an “iconic” brand and great partner for the tournament.
“RBC’s support of the game itself from the grass roots right up to the elite level in Canada is unprecedented, and I can say matter of factly, that the game in this country would not be where it is today without the support of RBC,” Simmons said.
The money the title sponsor puts up covers the purse and other expenses related to holding the tournament. Past sponsors have included Bell Canada, which withdrew its support of the tournament 2006, leaving the future of the event in question. RBC announced it would put its name on the championship a year later.
The bank, the largest company in Canada, also announced it was renewing its support of the Heritage, the tournament that follows the Masters. Despite having a date that follows the British Open making it challenging to draw a top field, RBC has been creative in its time as sponsor. The bank signed a number of players, including top golfers like Jason Day, Jim Furyk, Ernie Els, and others, to endorsement deals. Those players have been the biggest names in the field in recent years, with Day winning in 2015.
“The importance of golf to RBC is it really allows us the ability to connect with golf fans and clients,” said DePaoli. “It allows us the opportunity to have very unique experiences with those clients, and also to celebrate something that is grounded in athletics.”
The PGA Tour’s chief operating officer Jay Monahan said RBC, with two tournaments under its brand, is a significant sponsor.
“RBC is extremely important to us,” he said. “I don’t know how else I can put it. We’ve put a lot of time in understanding their business and culture and where they are trying to go. We’ve feel they are in a position where they can achieve and get great value. Otherwise they wouldn’t have renewed. And the prospect of them not extending—those are thoughts you don’t want to have.”
However, the sponsorship will not necessarily come with a new date. Some pundits have been critical of the date, which this year is sandwiched between the British Open and the PGA Championship.
Monahan said that’s not presently in the cards.
“Just looking back in time, this event has performed very well in the date that it’s in,” he said. Part of our discussions were really centered around what we can continue to do to improve every facet of the event and every facet of our relationship.”
WATCH: Canadian golfer David Hearn chats with Global’s Rob Leth as he gets set to play in the 2016 RBC Canadian Open.
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