Hero MotoCorp to sponsor renamed European Tour event

By Rahul Banerji

With both the Indian Open and Women’s Indian Open called off this year, Hero MotoCorp will now sponsor a full event on the European Tour.

The world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters was on Tuesday named title partner of the Hero Open, the second of six events in the European Tour’s new UK Swing.

Originally the English Open, the newly named tournament will be played at the Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club in Birmingham from July 30 to August 2, the European Tour website said.

Hero MotoCorp are a long-term sponsor of the Betfred British Masters hosted by Lee Westwood at Close House, the first event in the six-week UK run which takes place next week.

The Hero Open will be played the following week, the website noted.

Schedule disrupted

Changes to the 2020 Race to Dubai schedule mean that some scheduled Hero Challenges will not go ahead as planned, The Challenges see selected Tour stars go head to head in a shootout under lights.

The announcement strengthens the relationship between the European Tour and Hero MotoCorp, with the latter recently having announced an extension to its commitment to the Hero Challenge until 2022, the Tour said.

The Hero Challenges are held at iconic locations across the globe.

In addition to the Hero Open, the company will participate in the European Tour’s ‘Golf for Good’ initiative at the British Masters.

This involves a £20,000 sum to the first to make a hole-in-one during the tournament at Close House, with the prize money split equally between the player and the Sir Graham Wylie Foundation, official charity of the British Masters.

‘Strong partnership’

“We are thrilled to strengthen our partnership with Hero MotoCorp during the upcoming UK Swing, particularly with the support they have shown as title partner of the Hero Open,” Keith Pelley, chief executive of the European Tour, said:.

“We are delighted to have their continued commitment during these unprecedented times, and we thank Dr Pawan Munjal for his vision to help us showcase our fantastic game to the rest of the world.”

“Golf is the sport of business, which is why Hero is such a strong supporter of the game globally,” said Dr Munjal, chairman and chief executive of the company.

“The world is currently going through an unprecedented period due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I am confident that we all together will come out of this situation much stronger and more resilient.

“The UK Swing once again demonstrates the European Tour’s ability to be innovative and Hero is delighted to support this initiative.”

Also read: The next domino falls: Hero Indian Open is called off