Volvo & Golf - partnership in full swing
Volvo and the game of golf have enjoyed the perfect partnership, the longest single sports sponsorship portfolio embracing the professional game in Europe and Asia and amateur golf all over the world.
With that partnership dating back to 1970, Volvo has led the way in professional golf sponsorship, setting the standard with a groundbreaking European Tour-wide support network that included the two flagship championships, the Volvo PGA Championship and the Volvo Masters, binding the Tour together with the Volvo Order of Merit.
Volvo was also the first major global brand to see the potential for a strategic alliance with golf in Asia in general, China in particular, the brand's sponsorship of the Volvo China Open dating back to 1995.
Constructed on the foundation stones of quality, integrity and sportsmanship, Volvo's passion for professional golf is as strong today as it was 20-years-ago, over 100 tournaments worldwide and a nine-figure investment helping create one of the finest examples of a 'win-win' relationship between business and sport.
In 2004, Volvo's emphasis shifted, strengthening arguably the most prestigious event on the European Tour, the Volvo Masters at Valderrama, whilst enhancing the Volvo China Open with record prize money and a place on the European Tour International Schedule in addition to its roots on the Asian Tour.
And, the Volvo Masters of Asia, as the Volvo Masters is to Europe, the end-of-season showpiece for the Asian Tour has significantly benefited from a threefold increase in prize money and the application of Volvo's presentational gloss.
Meanwhile, the change of strategic course saw the Volvo brand develop the strongest and most widespread amateur golf series in the world, the Volvo Masters Amateur attracting almost 80,000 amateur players across two-dozen countries worldwide with a dramatic climax, the Volvo Masters Amateur World Final being played alongside the Volvo Masters itself each season.