(Credit: Rolex)
In 2016, the European Tour — a string of golf tournaments that include the BMW Championship, the Irish Open and the Scottish Open — announced it had posted a loss of 8 million pounds in prize money for just three events. Rolex decided to step in, renamed the golf tour “Rolex Series” and promised to make up future shortfalls.
This strategy wasn’t new for the brand. In 2002, Rolex had taken over the Grand American Road Racing Championship, featuring three of its premier races at Daytona, Watkins Glen and Indianapolis, and changed the name to “Rolex Sports Car Series.”
Then in 2005, Rolex renamed the 40-year-old regatta at the most prestigious yacht club in San Francisco “The Rolex Big Boat Series.”
The brand followed the same blueprint last month, when it announced it will unite six of the most prestigious equestrian shows in the world under the Rolex Series, the latest sign of the brand’s financial wherewithal in the world of sponsorships and its commitment to be associated with elite sports.