NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Bridgestone Americas will become the title sponsor for the inaugural America's Golf Cup, a team format event featuring members of PGA Tour Latinoamerica competing alongside PGA Tour stars.
America's Golf Cup is set to take place at the Pilar Golf Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Oct. 20-26.
Bridgestone already has strong ties with athletics, including serving as the title sponsor for Copa Bridgestone Libertadores, South America's premier international club soccer tournament, and as the official tire of the PGA Tour and Champions Tour through 2018.
Bridgestone Golf, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bridgestone Sports Co. Ltd., manufactures premium golf balls, clubs and accessories for golfers around the world. Bridgestone said it is represented on the golf course by various golfers including, Fred Couples, Matt Kuchar, Davis Love III, Nick Price, Brandt Snedeker, Karrie Webb and Paula Creamer.
The announcement of the inaugural America's Golf event comes on the heels of the ninth annual World Golf Championships—Bridgestone Invitational, which was held July 31-Aug. 3 at the Firestone Country Club in Akron. Bridgestone first began sponsoring the WGC—Bridgestone Invitational in 2006, and the current title sponsorship agreement runs through 2018.
“Having a world-class sponsor like Bridgestone coupled with world-class golfers like Tiger Woods, Matt Kuchar, Angel Cabrera and Andres Romero makes for a world-class event in Latina America,” said Lisandro Borges, CEO of the America's Golf Cup.
“This will be a unique and unprecedented experience for everyone involved and promises to further develop the game of golf in the region.”
Bridgestone said Messrs. Woods and Kuchar have committed to represent the U.S., while Messrs. Cabrera and Romero will represent Argentina. No other PGA Tour members will be invited to compete.
The tournament format will be two-man teams playing Four-Ball (Best-Ball) over 72 holes, with a maximum of 36 teams in the field. Six of those teams will be pre-determined by invitation, while the additional 30 teams will come from the PGA Tour Latinoamerica Order of Merit (OOM).
Offering a purse of $600,000, the America's Golf Cup will be an unofficial money event, Bridgestone said, with players' earnings not counting towards the OOM and the season-long race for Web.com Tour cards. The cut-off date for PGA Tour Latinoamerica member qualification will be Oct. 12, following the TransAmerican Power Products CRV Mazatlan Open.
The countries currently eligible to participate in the Bridgestone America's Golf Cup are U.S., Peru, Guatemala, Argentina, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Spain, United Kingdom, Zimbabwe and Uruguay.
Qualified players will select their partners from the PGA Tour Latinoamerica Order of Merit.