Categorized | Golf, Sports

Mitsubishi extends PGA sponsorship through 2015

MEDIA RELEASE

The PGA TOUR and Mitsubishi Electric have announced an extension of their official marketing partnership and title sponsorship of the Champions Tour’s season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai through 2015.

The Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai is scheduled for Jan. 16-22, 2012, and features an elite field of the past two seasons’ tournament champions and past five years of senior major championship winners.

The tournament has been the starting point of the season for the Champions Tour since 1997. During that span, the tournament has made a significant economic and charitable impact on the local community.

Almost $650,000 has been donated to various island charities, including $55,000 this year to the Rotary Club of Kona. The funds will assist the Keiki Eye Vision Program to help identify vision difficulties early in a child’s development.

Mitsubishi will also continue to provide Diamond Vision LED scoreboards at virtually every PGA TOUR tournament as the official large outdoor video display provider.

Rolled out in May 2007 at THE PLAYERS Championship, the Diamond Vision boards have significantly strengthened the on-site fan experience with a variety of player and venue information, along with graphics generated by the TOUR’s ShotLink real-time scoring system.

The Diamond Vision scoreboards were first used on the Champions Tour at Hualalai in 2009. As part of the new sponsorship agreement, Diamond Vision scoreboards will be introduced at all Champions Tour stops in 2013.

Mitsubishi will continue as the official HVAC products of the PGA TOUR and, beginning in 2013, will become the official elevator and escalator of the PGA TOUR. As an official marketing partner, Mitsubishi has and will continue to use select PGA TOUR tournaments for hospitality and entertainment.

“We are pleased to continue our relationship with the PGA TOUR and the Champions Tour,” said Katsuya Takamiya, president and CEO of Mitsubishi Electric US Holdings. “Our customers enjoy our relationship with the players and especially The Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. We could not ask for a stronger association with an organization, one that demonstrates a huge charitable impact and personal commitment to its sponsors, especially from the Champions Tour.”

As a further commitment to the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour, Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating recently announced its sponsorship of Fred Funk, a six-time winner on the Champions Tour.

As part of Funk’s sponsorship his golf bag, as well as his right shirt collar, will carry the Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating logo. This additional presence will help Mitsubishi Electric raise awareness of their cooling and heating products among target customers.

Funk won the season-opening championship at Hualalai in 2008.

John Cook, a three-time winner on the Champions Tour in 2011, is the defending champion of the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.

Collectively, the Champions Tour has the most recognizable and accomplished players in the game with many of its 29 members of the World Golf Hall of Fame competing regularly in its events and numerous other major championship winners among its members.

The Champions Tour is a membership organization of professional golfers age 50 and older. Conceived in 1980 as the Senior PGA Tour, it started with just four events and purses totaling $475,000.

Points earned in official Charles Schwab Cup events in 2011 will determine the Charles Schwab Cup champion, the season-long competition designed to recognize the Champions Tour’s leading player.

The Champions Tour’s primary purpose is to provide financial opportunities for its players, entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back, protect the integrity of the game and generate significant charitable and economic impact in communities in which it plays.

In 2010, tournaments on all three Tours (PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour) generated $120 million for local charitable organizations, bringing the TOUR’s all-time total of charitable contributions to more than $1.6 billion.

— Find out more:
www.pgatour.com
www.MitsubishiElectric-USA.com

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