Ricoh Women's British Open

Ricoh Women’s British Open

Sponsorship & Hospitality Opportunities

First played in 1976, the Ricoh Women’s British Open is owned by the Ladies’ Golf Union andis co-sanctioned by the LPGA and LET. The Championship is one of the four Majors on thewomen’s world golf circuit and annually attracts the very best players from around the worldas they bid to book their place in golfing history by winning this prestigious title.

Future Championship Venues

2010

Date29 July - 1 August

VenueRoyal Birkdale

Prize MoneyUS$2.5 million

Pro-Am27 July

2011

Date28 - 31 July

VenueCarnoustie


Pro-Am26 July

2012

Date13 - 16 September

VenueRoyal Liverpool


Pro-Am11 September

2013

Date1 - 4 August

VenueSt Andrews


Pro-Am30 July

The Ricoh Women’s British Open

FormatFour-day, stroke-play tournament, 72 holes. 144 players including exempt and successfulqualifiers, reducing to the leading 65 players and ties (including amateurs) after 36 holes.

Hospitality

&Trade

StandSpace

OfficialSupplier

PatronSponsor

Media

Coverage

History

ofthe

Championship

TheW

orldof

Wom

en’sGolf

The World of Women’s Golf

There are three major women’s tours in world golf today.

The LPGA, in the United States, is the largest and most

international of the three and its schedule is considered

by many to be THE world tour. It was founded in 1950

and stages tournaments offering total annual prize money

in excess of US$50 million, with co-sanctioned events in

Europe, Asia, South Africa and Central America.

The LPGA’s European equivalent, the Ladies European

Tour (LET), has followed its male counterpart by

extending its boundaries to the Middle East, Asia and

Australia. The LET currently delivers more than 25 events

each year, across four continents, with over €11 million

in prize money.

The Far East is a rapidly developing region with Japan

(JLPGA) and Korea (KLPGA) staging a significant number

of tournaments throughout the year.

“The Majors are the events that every player

wants to win. When it comes to our four

Majors, the Ricoh Women’s British Open

stands second to none”

Paula Creamer

“It’s a chance to play against the best players in the world, on the very

best golf courses in the world, for a place in sporting history”

Catriona Matthew

The inaugural Championship was held in 1976 at Fulford in Yorkshire –

at a time when there were only a few female professionals – and its

international credentials were quickly established with six of the first 10

Champions coming from overseas. Since those early days the

Championship has become a truly global event – the field of 144

competitors comprises the best professional and amateur players from

around the world and there are more than 20 different nationalities

represented every year. In 2001, in recognition of its standing in the

world of golf, the Championship was designated as one of the four

women’s Majors and is now sanctioned by both the LPGA and LET.

The Championship has steadily grown in popularity over the years and

now approximately 60,000 spectators attend each year at some of the

greatest venues in the UK, including the Old Course at St Andrews,

Sunningdale, Turnberry, Royal Lytham & St Annes and Royal Birkdale,

with Carnoustie and Royal Liverpool also recently joining the rota.

They have witnessed some outstanding competition and have cheered

on an impressive list of past Champions that includes many of the

leading names from women’s golf in modern

times – Lorena Ochoa, Annika Sorenstam,

Se Ri Pak, Karrie Webb, Patty Sheehan,

Helen Alfredsson, Alison Nicholas, Laura

Davies and Betsy King.

Hospitality

&Trade

StandSpace

OfficialSupplier

PatronSponsor

Media

Coverage

History

ofthe

Championship

History of the Championship

Middle East16 countries

Africa11 countries

Europe10 countries

South America15 countries

Central America8 countries

Caribbean29 countries

In the UK the BBC act as host broadcaster and produce around 15 hours of live

television coverage of the Championship on its main channels in addition to live

coverage of all four days on its interactive channel, BBCi.

In the United States ESPN broadcast a minimum of 12 hours live coverage and

network station ABC show a one-hour highlights programme on Sunday evening

or Monday following the tournament. The Championship therefore has the

best possible platform in the United States, as it does in Japan, where the total

television coverage on TV Asahi and Golf Network is at least 61 hours, live or

repeated, over the four days.

With additional coverage in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, the Caribbean

plus Central and South America, the Ricoh Women’s British Open is broadcast

to more than 100 different countries worldwide. Coverage reaches at least

400 million households.

www.ricohwomensbritishopen.com is the official Championship website.

Following significant recent investment and the continual addition of new

features it receives approximately 14 million hits during each Championship.

The Ricoh Women’s British Open is also one of the most popular events on

www.lpga.com which regularly receives in excess of 11 million hits during the

Championship. www.ladieseuropeantour.com is visited around 5 million times

during each Championship – a figure that increases annually and which reflects

the event’s growing popularity.

Hospitality

&Trade

StandSpace

OfficialSupplier

PatronSponsor

Media

CoverageMedia Coverage

Asia20 countries

Number of countries correct at time of going to press.

“It’s one of the best Championships on the Tour

and one I’d love to win”

Michelle Wie

The Ricoh Women’s British Open Championship provides several opportunities

to sponsor the hottest property in women’s golf and the most prestigious is to

become a Patron Sponsor. The Championship has a maximum of four Patron

Sponsors, who currently include Rolex and Andalucia Tourism.

Benefits include:

P Official designation as ‘Patron Sponsor to the Ricoh Women’s British Open’

and category exclusivity

P On-course branding – six on-course advertising banners

P Off-course branding – two off-course advertising banners

P 400 ‘any one day’ entry tickets

P Two pages of advertising within the official souvenir programme

P Invitations to all official functions, including the Championship Committee

drinks reception

P Your company logo will appear on the daily drawsheet and on all

promotional literature

P Two teams in the Championship Pro-Am event

P An exclusive hospitality pavilion for up to 30 guests per day, inclusive of all

catering costs and including VIP passes and VIP car parking

P One team in the sponsors’ golf day, on the Monday following the

Championship

P A prominent display area within the spectator village

P Accreditation on official website and a hotlink to your homepage

P One 30-second advertisement per hour on the Championship internal

television service and giant screen within the spectator village

Hospitality

&Trade

StandSpace

OfficialSupplier

PatronSponsor

Patron Sponsor

“For me the Women’s British Open is

THE event of the year”

Natalie Gulbis

It is also possible to become an Official Supplier to the Ricoh Women’s British

Open and provide necessary services and product to the Championship to offset

against the sponsorship fee.

Benefits include:

P Official designation as an ‘Official Supplier to the Ricoh Women’s British

Open’ and category exclusivity

P On-course branding – two on-course advertising banners

P Off-course branding – one off-course advertising banner

P 50 ‘any one day’ entry tickets

P One page of advertising within the official souvenir programme

P Invitations to all official functions, including the Championship Committee

drinks reception

P Your company logo will appear on the daily drawsheet and on all

promotional literature

P One team in the Championship Pro-Am event

P VIP hospitality for 10 guests per day, inclusive of all catering costs and

including VIP passes and VIP car parking

P A prominent display area within the spectator village

P Accreditation on official website and a hotlink to your homepage

P One 30-second advertisement per hour on the Championship internal

television service and giant screen within the spectator village

Please note: These sponsorship packages are a guideline only and IMG would

be happy to meet to discuss how to tailor a sponsorship programme to meet

your specific requirements and marketing strategies.

Hospitality

&Trade

StandSpace

OfficialSupplierOfficial Supplier

“You know you are at a Major Championship - it has a very different

feel to other tournaments and you know it’s going to be tough”

Suzann Pettersen

The Ricoh Women’s British Open provides an excellent opportunity to entertain

clients within the Championship Club, a relaxed and exclusive VIP hospitality

facility located close to the 18th green.

Benefits include:

P Five-star catering

P VIP facilities overlooking the golf course

P Shared or private facility / suite

P Priority car parking

With around 60,000 visitors regularly attending the Championship, what better

place to showcase your company’s products and services than within the

Exhibition Zone. This is where the spectators will find refreshments, official

merchandise and a variety of companies promoting or selling their products and

services – it could be perfect for you.

Benefits include:

P Trade stand space within the spectator village

P Your company name on fascia boards

P Interior package included within all trade stands as standard

P Flexible space options

P Professional interior stand-fitting service available

Hospitality

&Trade

StandSpace

Hospitality & Trade Stand Space

Championship Roll of Honour

2009

Catriona Matthew

Royal Lytham & St Annes

2008

Jiyai Shin

Sunningdale

2007

Lorena Ochoa

St Andrews

2006

Sherri Steinhauer


2005

Jeong Jang

Royal Birkdale

2004

Karen Stupples

Sunningdale

2003

Annika Sorenstam


2002

Karrie Webb

Turnberry

2001

Se Ri Pak

Sunningdale

2000

Sophie Gustafson

Royal Birkdale

1999

Sherri Steinhauer

Woburn

1998

Sherri Steinhauer


1997

Karrie Webb

Sunningdale

1996

Emilee Klein

Woburn

1995

Karrie Webb

Woburn

1994

Liselotte Neumann

Woburn

1993

Karen Lunn

Woburn

1992

Patty Sheehan

Woburn

1991

Penny Grice-Whittaker

Woburn

1990

Helen Alfredsson

Woburn

1989

Jane Geddes

Ferndown

1988

Corinne Dibnah

Lindrick

1987

Alison Nicholas

St Mellion

1986

Laura Davies

Royal Birkdale

1985

Betsy King

Moor Park

1984

Ayako Okamoto

Woburn

1983

No Championship

played

1982

Marta Figueras-Dotti

Royal Birkdale

1981

Debbie Massey

Northumberland

1980

Debbie Massey

Wentworth

1979

Alison Sheard

Southport & Ainsdale

1978

Janet Melville

Foxhills

1977

Vivien Saunders

Lindrick

1976

Jenny Lee-Smith

Fulford

If you are interested in any of the sponsorship opportunities outlined in this

brochure and would like to discuss your requirements with a member of the

IMG events team, please contact

Ross Hallett

Vice President IMG Golf and Tournament Director

+44 (0) 208 233 5300

[email protected]

Alistair McKay Forbes

Vice President IMG Golf Business Development

+44 (0) 208 233 5300

[email protected]

For further information

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Ricoh Women's British Open

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