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The Loop

Automobile company steps up...in Europe

February 02, 2009

A beleaguered U.S. auto industry surely does not bode well for the PGA Tour (see the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic), but the European PGA Tour apparently is doing better with is automobile sponsorships.

BMW just signed on as the sponsor of the Italian Open, the European PGA Tour has announced. Scheduled for May, the BMW Italian Open will become the third European PGA Tour event sponsored by BMW, joining the BMW International Open and the BMW PGA Championship.

"To have BMW as a partner," George O'Grady, chief executive of the European Tour, said, "with their renowned commitment to standards of excellence in promoting golf tournaments, is the envy of all other sports."

And golf tours, he might have added.

-- John Strege