The Heritage would be lucky to get a sponsor as strong as the RBC

My long time Fairways broadcast colleague and friend Bob Weeks, whose fine writing you can follow with the Scoregolf link I have provided, was tweeting today about the possibility of RBC signing on to sponsor the Heritage, and it got me thinking about what a wonderful corporate partner they have turned out to be for not only golf, but sport in this country

In 2007 at Angus Glen, Scott Metcalfe and I had lunch with and interviewed Jim Kinnear who owned Pengrowth and who was leading an effort to assist the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) in the search for a title sponsor for the Canadian Open.

There was so much concern, as there is now about the Heritage, that we might lose the Canadian Open after du Maurier was forced to withdraw due to new government restrictions on tobacco companies sponsoring sports. Jim's idea was to get 6 companies all to throw their financial support into the RCGA's hat, so he gathered several executives and business leaders for roundtable discussions at both the 2007 Canadian Open and at the Presidents Cup in Montreal.

Partly as a result of Jim putting his money where his mouth was and his drive and inspiration, RBC ultimately signed on as title sponsor of RBC Canadian Open, and they have been a beacon of light inspite of the worldwide recession, so it is no wonder that Commissioner Finchem has made the call.

RBC does so much more than just golf. You will all remember their little businessman in all the commercials during the Vancouver Olympics.  They are a national sponsor of Hockey Canada, the Canadian Snowboard Federation, the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association, and Athletics Canada and have created grassroots programs for amateur athletes in communities across Canada.

They also have an Olympians program that hires both Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes as community ambassadors and most all the heroes names you have now forgotten from Vancouver have benefitted from that sponsorship.

In January they signed Ernie Els, Jim Furyk and Matt Kuchar to join Anthony Kim, Mike Weir, Stephen Ames, Luke Donald and Fred Couples in RBC's group of brand ambassadors. The signing fees are private, but you can bet they are steep, but they certainly are getting a bang for their buck with the amount of TV time their logo is getting, especially with  Luke Donald (world #3, possibly #1 this week) Jim Furyk and Freddie Couples this year.


So before you wonder if they've hired me, this was not meant to be an RBC promo, but I couldn't help but remember the doom and gloom surrounding our Canadian Open back at Angus Glen back in 2007, and how it is now prospering with the backing of the RBC.

For golf's sake we can only hope the Heritage can be so lucky.

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles













As a result, he was awarded the RCGA Distinguished Service Award.













Els, Furyk and Kuchar join Anthony Kim, Mike Weir, Stephen Ames, Luke Donald and Fred Couples in RBC's group of brand ambassadors.




RBC proudly supports golf around the world through high profile relationships with the PGA TOUR, The PGA of America and Golf Canada. In addition to being the Official Banking and Financial Services partner of touring professionals Anthony Kim, Mike Weir, Luke Donald, Stephen Ames, Fred Couples, and Morgan Pressel, RBC is also the Official Bank of The PGA of America and proud title sponsor of Canada’s National Open Golf Championship, the RBC Canadian Open. In addition, RBC supports emerging Canadian golfers through Golf Canada’s grassroots developmental programming including Canada’s national amateur golf championships and Team Canada – the country’s national amateur golf team program.
 
The RBC Olympians program hires both Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes as community ambassadors who bring Olympic messages of excellence and leadership to Canadian communities.

Athletes are provided with the opportunity to gain valuable skills that will help them prepare for life after sport, while also receiving much-needed funding to help them realize their Olympic and Paralympic dreams.

Amateur Sport.Building Canada's Legacy

As a long-time supporter of amateur sport in Canada, we’re committed to helping athletes succeed, whether it’s at the community or national level, or at the Olympic Games.



RBC is a proud national sponsor of Hockey Canada, the Canadian Snowboard Federation, the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association, and Athletics Canada. RBC, together with these national sport associations, has created grassroots programs for amateur athletes in communities across Canada.