MIKE PURKEY
SOUTHAMPTON, BERMUDA |
Never does
Stephen Urquhart’s glass get below half
full. And along with that endless opti-
mism comes vision.
or triple our sales in America, which we
cannot do tomorrow anyplace else.
“We can’t get involved in the Super
Bowl. It’s a different level and not for
Omega. But golf in America is so big, the
grassroots are so big. It’s not just Florida
or two or three states, but it’s all over the
country.”
Omega was involved in golf in the late
1960s, primarily in Japan. In the early
1990s, Omega was the umbrella spon-
sor for what is now the Asian Tour, then
called the Omega Tour. But golf was quite
small in Asia at the time, not the bur-
geoning game it has become in the last
handful of years.
Omega began to be involved in the
European Tour, sponsoring the European
Masters, Dubai Desert Classic and Dubai
Ladies Masters. In 2009, the Omega
Stephen Urquhart
championship winners in a 36-hole event
at Port Royal Golf Course in Bermuda.
Urquhart believes that the event’s imprint
could be much larger.
“It’s a great event and people should
know about it,” he said. “You have four
major championships in completely dif-
ferent environments and the winners
gather here in one place to compete. I
think it warrants a lot more exposure.
How, it’s too early to say.
“They need to showcase it differently,
do more for it. It needs to be in a major
media market. It’s a special event. Grand
Slam means a lot; it’s a very meaningful
name.”
According the sources, 2012 will be
the last year that the PGA Grand Slam
will be held in Bermuda. In 2013, it will be
moved to an undisclosed location on Long
Island in New York.
Urquhart is the most excited about
being involved in the Ryder Cup, believed
by many to be the greatest event in the
game.
“The Ryder Cup has really become
the tournament for non-golfers,” Urqu-
hart said. “It’s easy. You can understand
it. If you can’t really appreciate the finer
points of the golf swing, if you have a
match that’s 2-up, it’s easy to under-
stand. I know people who don’t follow golf
who do appreciate the Ryder Cup.”
Which is exactly why Urquhart wants
his company associated with the Ryder
Cup. In that respect, that particular cup is
completely full – and running over. l
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