Rolex And Golf
Rolex’s long-standing support of golf is one of the most enduring and successful partnerships in sport.
Rolex's enduring relationship with the game of golf began over 50 years ago, in 1967, with Arnold Palmer, joined by Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. Known together as The Big Three, these legendary players changed the face of golf forever, and their partnership with Rolex marked the beginnings of a relationship based on a quest for perfection, excellence and sportsmanship. Since then, the affiliation between Rolex and golf has grown into one with a global reach, so much that Rolex is now part of the very fabric of golf, supporting the game at all levels.
From the Big Three in 1967, Rolex added prestigious tournaments in the 1980s, The Open and U.S. Open; and further included guardians of the traditions and rules of the game, The R&A and USGA; as well as the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), to its growing number of golf partners. New partnerships with the Masters Tournament, The Ryder Cup and the
European Tour were added in the 1990s, as well as selected talent including Major winners Fred Couples, Phil Mickelson, and Annika Sörenstam.
Since 2000, alongside the game's legends and prodigious talents, Rolex now supports men's and women's golf across five continents, as well as tours, federations, organizations and competitions, reaching all golfers from junior to senior levels. In 2017, the commencement of a new initiative on the European Tour – The Rolex Series – denoted Rolex's continued commitment to the game.
Partnerships with Governing Bodies
In 1980, Rolex's presence in golf became significantly more visible across the globe when a new relationship was formed with the USGA, organizers of the U.S. Open. Mike Davis, the USGA'S executive director said: “I can't think of a company that is more globally and passionately associated with golf. Rolex support permeates the core of golf, beyond championships and players, to the Rules, history and etiquette.”
In 1981, Rolex clocks appeared on a tournament golf course for the first time, at Royal St George's for The Open, the oldest golf championship in the world. This burgeoning tie with The R&A marked a pivotal moment in Rolex's relationship with golf that extended to the Ricoh Women's British Open.
Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said: “For over 40 years Rolex has played an integral role in the rich history of The Open. Our unwavering relationship has actively supported the growth of the modern game and encouraged its development around the world and will continue to do so for years to come.”
Together with the USGA, The R&A governs the sport of golf worldwide, sharing a commitment to a single code for the Rules of Golf, Rules of Amateur Status, and Equipment Standards. As “Official Timekeeper” to their respective championships, Rolex keeps time throughout host sites for spectator and player convenience, but its support is far more extensive.
In the 1990s, Rolex became a partner of the Masters, the first men's Major championship of the year, staged annually at the majestic Augusta National Golf Club.
Partnerships With Professional Tours
1980 was a pivotal year, as Rolex and the LPGA formed a partnership based on mutual respect for tradition and shared values of integrity, distinction and worldclass performance.
In 2007, Rolex became an official sponsor of the PGA TOUR®, who cosanctions more than 130 professional golf tournaments in North America and around the world, including THE PLAYERS Championship, the World Cup of Golf, the Fedexcup, with its four Fedexcup playoffs, and the biennial Presidents Cup™.
In 2011, Rolex increased its international reach in golf by joining forces with the Asian Tour, to develop and grow golf in Asia while maintaining a commitment to the integrity of the game.
Marking the 20th anniversary of Rolex's partnership with the European Tour, the inaugural Rolex Series took place in 2017.
The Majors
Pioneering Rolex golf Testimonee, Arnold Palmer, wrote in his autobiography, A Golfer's Life, that he and a friend devised a modern “Grand Slam of Golf”, in 1960, with four Major championships, the Masters and the U.S. Open, plus two he hoped to win, including The Open. Since then, these tournaments have marked the peak of individual excellence in golf.
The season-opening Major, the Masters, where Rolex has been an International Partner since 1999, is unique among the four as it is an invitational event and is staged at the same venue every year – the pristine Augusta National Golf Club. The picturesque course in Georgia, US, is renowned for its colourful, Azalea-lined fairways, the amateur golfing spirit of the tournament's founder Bobby Jones, and for the symbolic Green Jacket given to the winner. This distinct garment is equivalent to a lifetime invitation to participate in the Masters, according to tournament tradition.
The U.S. Open has witnessed many of golf's signature moments created by the game's legendary champions. Rolex has been Official Timekeeper of the U.S. Open since 1980, and the U.S. Women's Open since 2003. Dating back to its inaugural championship in 1895, the USGA annually conducts the U.S. Open in June, when the game's greatest amateurs and professionals vie for the coveted trophy.
At the third Major of the year, The Open, where Rolex has been Official Timekeeper since 1981, golfers compete for one of the oldest prizes in sport, the Claret Jug. Founded by pioneering golfers in the United Kingdom who had one guiding principle - to crown the Champion Golfer of the Year. Since 1860, The Open has been played over some of the world's most cherished links courses, including Royal Birkdale, Carnoustie, Royal Liverpool, Royal Lytham & St Annes, Royal Portrush, Prestwick, Royal St George's, Royal Troon, as well as at the home of golf, St Andrews.
Rolex is also Official Timekeeper of the five Majors in women's professional golf. The ANA Inspiration is the first women's Major of the year. Classified as a Major in 1983, Rolex Testimonee Lydia Ko won this prestigious title in 2016. Founded in 1955, the event now named the KPMG Women's PGA Championship is the second longest running tournament in the history of the LPGA after the U.S. Women's Open, which was established in 1946. The Ricoh Women's British Open was established in 1976 to honour women's growing presence in the sport.
Held annually at the glorious Evian Resort Golf Club in France, The Evian Championship became the fifth Women's Major in 2013. Rolex has been a Main Partner of the event since 2000, which was won by Swedish Testimonee Anna Nordqvist in 2017. It is at this event, that the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award, established in 2014, is presented to the player who, during that LPGA Tour season, has the most outstanding Major championship record.
Team Competitions
Team competitions invite golfers to put aside individualism and compete for country or continent. Attracting huge crowds and a passionate following, The Ryder Cup, a biennial match launched in 1927 between teams from the United States and Europe, is hosted alternately by the PGA of America and the Ryder Cup Europe. The partnership with Rolex began in 1995, as Europe took the first two titles, the second being the famous victory at Valderrama Golf Club, Spain, in 1997. Since 2014, whenever The Ryder Cup is played on European soil, Rolex stands as the event's sponsor, in addition to sponsoring the European Team at every edition of the renowned competition. When the Samuel Ryder Trophy is contested in 2022, Europe's and America's finest will face each other in the historic city of Rome, Italy.
“The engraved watch Rolex presents to members of the European Ryder Cup team is very special,” said Martin Kaymer,
who played in the victorious European teams of 2010, 2012 and 2014, continued: “That watch is something to treasure, to hand down to your grandchildren one day. It is a fantastic reminder that, as a golfer, you have achieved something very special - you have been selected as one of the best players to represent all of Europe.”
Rolex is also engrained in women's team golf and, since 1994, has been a partner of the Solheim Cup, the women's professional team challenge between America and Europe. In 2017, Swedish Rolex Testimonee and 10-time Major winner, Annika Sörenstam, followed her fellow countrywoman and Testimonee Carin Koch to captain Team Europe. America's Juli Inkster, a seven-time Major winner, captained the U.S. Team in 2015 and returned to the role in 2017, winning on home soil.
The Presidents Cup™ was first contested in 1994, and Rolex became the Official Timekeeper in 2005. A biennial event, it features a team of 12 of the finest golfers from the United States matched against the best from the rest of the world, excluding Europe.
Rolex added the World Cup of Golf to its team competition golf roster in 2013, when the tournament was won by Team Australia, made up of Rolex Testimonees Jason Day and Adam Scott. In 2016 the golf World Cup went to Rolex Testimonee Thorbjørn Olesen and his playing partner, the first win of its kind for Denmark.
Rolex New Guard
There is a burgeoning group of young, aspirational golfers who confidently go about their business with integrity, maturity and respect as well as displaying skill, precision and ambition. They are the “Rolex New Guard” a new generation of golfers who, like The Big Three before them, are asserting their authority on the sport and in doing so inspire future generations of athletes to follow them.
Born in the 1980s and 1990s, these prodigious golfers include: American Daniel Berger, who joined the winner's circle in 2016; Jason Day; 2015 U.S. Amateur Champion Bryson Dechambeau who's notched four wins this year alone on the PGA TOUR®; England's Matthew Fitzpatrick, already a four-time European Tour winner; 2015 PLAYERS Championship winner Rickie Fowler; Brooke Henderson, the Canadian winner of the 2016 Women's PGA Championship; Lydia Ko and Brooks Koepka.
Also among the Rolex New Guard are China's Haotong Li, who recorded his second European Tour victory in January 2018; Hideki Matsuyama, with an impressive Majors record to accompany five PGA TOUR® wins; Thomas Pieters, the long-hitting Belgian with three European Tour victories under his belt; Spaniard Jon Rahm, who won three times in 2017, including two Rolex Series events, as well as being named the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year; Jordan Spieth; Justin Thomas, who won his first Major and was named the PGA TOUR® Player of the Year in 2017; and Lexi Thompson.
This is a game in which standards, ethics and principles are handed down through the generations. What's more, this generation of golfers is proud to be associated with The Big Three and to emulate their relationships with Rolex. Such is their respect for the heritage of the game, they know what it means to be named alongside giants of golf. From The Big Three to the New Guard, the continuity is smooth and seamless.
“Golf goes through cycles and through generations,” said Annika Sörenstam, former Rolex Rankings World No. 1. “Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Jason Day are fun personalities and powerful players as well as quality individuals. There is certainly a new generation emerging and I feel golf is in good hands.”
Rolex's association with golf began in 1967, and over more than five decades, Rolex's connection with the game has only grown stronger, deeper and more integral. Sharing golf's values, supporting its ambitions, helping to develop its future growth and well-being, Rolex is the sport's most passionate supporter. And it will be there long into the future.