- DraftKings has signed a sponsorship deal with golfer Bryson DeChambeau.
- DeChambeau will wear the DraftKings logo on his cap during next week’s Masters.
- It is DraftKings first sponsorship with an active professional golfer.
Golf has always been a sport focused on betting. This is true within the game itself and on a broader context at the sportsbook. At DraftKings, golf is the fourth most popular fantasy sport while the betting handle has grown more than ten times this year. With the exception of NFL games, the 2019 Masters ranked as one of the top five highest bet sporting events ever on the DraftKings platform.
For that reason, it’s no surprise to see the company getting more involved with golf from a sponsorship standpoint. Last year, DraftKings became the PGA’s first ‘official fantasy game’ and earlier this year was named the tour’s inagural ‘official betting operator’. They’ve now taken their focus on golf even further with the sponsorship of 2020 US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau. DeChambaeu is currently the world’s #6 ranked golfer and he’s signed a deal that, according to a press release, will make him ‘the face of DraftKings golf’. The first component of that will be the presence of a DraftKings’ logo on DeChambeau’s golf cap at the 2020 Masters.
The 2020 sports schedule has suffered plenty of disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic but DraftKings is going to use that as a marketing opportunity. The 2020 Masters has been rescheduled to November and for the first time the final round at Augusta will take place on a NFL Sunday. DraftKings will commemorate the unique scheduling event with a multi-sport pool, offering a $100,000 free to play event.
Jason Robins, co-founder and CEO of DraftKings, emphasized the importance of golf to their product mix in a press release:
“Professional golf has been a key growth sport in both daily fantasy and sports betting, and our collaboration with Bryson DeChambeau is a notable new layer of mainstream brand exposure and fan experience. As one of golf’s most promising athletes and the current U.S. Open champion, DraftKings is strategically aligning with winning athletes like Bryson who embody and embolden the competitive fire of our customers.”
DeChambeau told Golfweek that DraftKings represents ‘the future’ of golf:
“It’s pretty cool. They are a company that is pretty young and thriving and for me, personally, the whole fantasy golf space, the whole betting world, is getting bigger and bigger and I want to be associated with a brand that is growing the game and exposing the game in different areas.”
“This is the future. And I want to be a part of that.”
DeChambeau echoed these thoughts in a quote included in the DraftKings press release announcing the deal:
“DraftKings has been at the forefront of innovation for how people experience golf, and the company continues to modernize the game through technology built by and for sports fans. The gaming industry has already helped golf reach broader audiences, and I am proud to work with DraftKings on boosting fan excitement and engagement in the game.”
The Masters will begin on Thursday, November 12 with the final round slated for Sunday, November 12.
