Betway takes over Big Easy Tour naming rights

South Africa’s leading online sports and gaming brand, Betway, is proud to be announced as the new title partner of the Big Easy Tour, which is the feeder circuit of the Sunshine Tour for the upcoming season.

The Tour will now be known as the Betway Big Easy Tour and will feature ten 54-hole tournaments, a Play-Off event and a Grand Final.

Having already been involved with professional golf in various capacities, including player sponsorships and supporting the Papwa Sewgolum Transformation Class, Betway is no stranger to the professional golf in South Africa.

Sharing the brand’s views on its exciting new partnership with the Big Easy Tour, Betway’s Head of Marketing, Mark Rowles said that as a brand, Betway is proud to be partners with the Big Easy Tour.

“Being a partner of the Big Easy Tour is an initiative that bodes well with the values that we stand for as a brand,” said Rowles. “We have spearheaded a number of community sports initiatives that continue to yield incredible results in the communities that we serve. We are hoping that through our investment the Betway Big Easy Tour will continue to unearth the next heroes of South African golf.”

Formed back in 2011 with the support of the legendary Ernie Els, the Betway Big Easy Tour has been at the forefront of producing world-class golfers who have gone on to compete on the biggest stages in world golf. Among such players is Christiaan Bezuidenhout who went on to win the Investec South African Open Championship.

Speaking about this new partnership, Sunshine Tour Commissioner, Thomas Abt said: “This is an important milestone in the cycle of the Big Easy Tour.

The value of the Betway Big Easy Tour cannot be overstated as it is one of the avenues through which we provide players with a direct pathway to the Sunshine Tour and the world.

“We are extremely pleased that Betway has come on board to partner with us on this journey. Our shared vision for the future of South African golf is what brought us to this point and we cannot thank Betway enough for partnering with us.

"The new Betway Big Easy Tour promises to be electrifying and it is through partners that we can afford our members with more playing opportunities. It’s a great day for the Big Easy Tour and I can safely say, it’s a great day for Betway too.”

Each of the 10 regular-season tournaments will carry prize money of R150 000 while The Play-Off tournament, which is the penultimate event of the season and will see only the top 50 players on the Order of Merit, will carry a purse of R250 000.

In the final, only the top 30 players will compete for a grand prize of R300 000.

At the end of the season, the top 12 players on the Order of Merit will earn themselves Sunshine Tour cards while the top six transformation players on the standings will also earn their main Tour playing privileges.

The first event of the new season will be held at Benoni Country Club from June 25 to June 27. The Big Easy Tour was founded in 2011 with support from Ernie Els.