At a time when some PGA Tour sponsors are unsure of their relationship with professional golf, Mastercard executives are unabashedly enthusiastic about the game and the players who are a part of it. The company’s association with the tour since 1995 and its role as its “official payment system” speak to that. So does the multi-year extension last year of its sponsorship of the Arnold Palmer Invitational soon after the tournament, which has been “presented by Mastercard” since 2004, became what is now called a signature event.
That is staying power, and the company’s sponsorship, through which Mastercard also supports the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation, is among the longest running on the PGA Tour.
In talking about its affiliation with that organization, Rustom Dastoor, executive vice president of marketing and communications for Mastercard, North America, praises “the power of partnerships” and how this one enables the two entities to help golf grow and prosper while also “putting fans and players at the center of the experience.”
Experience is an important word for Dastoor, especially as it relates to the spectators who flock to the Arnold Palmer Invitational, aka the API, each March at Bay Hill Club and Lodge near Orlando, Florida.
“We see Mastercard as a lifestyle brand, and our goal is to help cardholders enjoy the lifestyles they want, in part by curating once-in-a-lifetime experiences for them,” he said. “Like being able to walk inside the ropes. Or connecting up-close-and-personal with our brand ambassadors, who include Justin Rose, Max Homa and Viktor Hovland. Or by playing in the pro-am.”
Mastercard also seeks to do that through digital means. This year, for example, it is partnering with Topgolf Callaway Brands on an AI-driven putting simulator in its Mastercard Club that analyzes swing data and provides the club specs cardholders need to buy the Odyssey putter that fits them best.
And as far as marketing executives at Mastercard are concerned, the elevated status of the API, which has been played since 1979 at the late Palmer’s longtime winter home at Bay Hill, only makes the collaboration work better, due to the greater brand visibility that comes with being a signature event.
In 2017, the year after Palmer died, organizers began awarding the tournament winner a red cardigan sweater of the sort that the King fancied as a way of remembering him. That tradition continues.
The API was known as the Florida Citrus Open Invitational when it debuted in 1966 at Rio Pinar Country Club east of Orlando. Palmer finished second twice in the event’s first five years before winning the 1971 edition, besting Julius Boros by a stroke. Eight years later, the competition moved to Bay Hill, which Palmer had purchased in 1975. Still owned by his family, it has been the tournament site ever since. The event underwent a number of name changes through the years, and it was not until 2007 that it assumed the appellation it has today, the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
In 2017, the year after Palmer died, organizers began awarding the tournament winner a red cardigan sweater of the sort that the King fancied as a way of remembering him. That tradition continues, and the spoils for the 2024 victor also include a trophy and a check for $4 million, which comes out of an eye-popping total purse of $20 million; only the Players at $25 million offers more money on the PGA Tour.
For Mastercard, the most obvious allure of getting involved two decades ago with Arnie’s tournament was being associated with the host himself, who retains God-like status in golf even in death. But being able to build the Mastercard brand by providing what Dastoor describes as “priceless experiences” to cardholders through that event also has been an attraction. And he says the company strives to create each year more compelling ones, both physical and digital, as it also showcases what Mastercard can do from a technological standpoint. After all, he adds, this is the company that made Bay Hill the first venue on tour to go completely contactless when it came to making on-site purchases.
“This year, our Mastercard Club, which is open to anyone who has one of our cards, features a walkway that will take players through the lounge on their way to the first tee,” he said.
At the same time, Mastercard is offering a number of tech-driven options in that space. They include a personalized AI shopping tool, an Xbox gaming station and various Web3 experiences, among them a connected golf hat that unlocks personalized content that can be accessed and relived beyond the tournament and an NFT scavenger hunt that gamifies the golf course by allowing participants to claim digital collectibles to win experiences and prizes.
“Golf is getting younger, and we want to bring more people of a younger demographic into the game,” Dastoor said.
That initiative is but one of many reasons why Mastercard remains engaged with the PGA Tour, even as the professional game remains somewhat in a state of flux due to the back and forth between the tour and LIV Golf.
“We view our partnership with the PGA Tour as an enduring one,” Dastoor said. “We want to work together to elevate the sport. And the way we see it, investing more money and energy in the game is a good thing so long as we focus on the fan and player experiences.”
Editor’s note: Global Golf Post has a business relationship with the PGA Tour.
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