Golf News

PGA Tour event formerly known as the Honda officially gets new sponsor

2023 Honda Classic

Cognizant is an IT and consulting company that helps businesses modernize technology. Its associates devoted 150,000 hours teaching business, software and technology skills in 2022.

When the opportunity arose to attach its name to the biggest sporting event in Palm Beach County and one of the biggest in South Florida, Cognizant saw it as a natural fit.

“The amount of senior leaders across the United States that have a second home or, in a lot of cases, moved to the Palm Beaches area was pretty spectacular,” Gaurav Chand, Cognizant’s chief marketing officer, told The Palm Beach Post.

“This is our sweet spot of clients … the group we are targeting. So hosting a tournament in that area, in a time frame where most people make that part of the country their winter home, is incredibly advantageous for a company like ours.”

Cognizant signed a six-year deal Monday night as the new title sponsor of the tournament known as the Honda Classic for more than four decades.

As the Palm Beach Post previously reported, the tournament is renamed the Cognizant Classic.

As a global partner of the Presidents Cup and a title sponsor of the LPGA’s Founders Cup, Cognizant has experience in the golf sponsorship business. But one thing that makes this investment attractive is its name being at the top of the billboard.

“The Presidents Cup, you’re not a title sponsor, per se,” Chand said. “So you don’t get your name as part of the economy, right? So the fact that you get your name as part of the tournament takes awareness to a different level altogether. That’s a huge advantage.

“We work with a ton of the Fortune 500 companies, a lot of them have either headquartered or locations in the West Palm Beach area. So we’re taking a huge angle around getting the business community also very closely involved with the tournament.”

2023 Honda Classic

Eric Cole tees off at the 17th hole during the third round of the 2023 Honda Classic at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. (Photo: Andres Leiva/Palm Beach Post)

With a small window prior to the 2024 event, scheduled for Feb. 29-March 3 at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Cognizant immediately will start its advertising blitz.

Cognizant is headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, and has 66 offices and retail locations throughout the U.S. The company was not dissuaded by the tumultuous landscape of the sport caused by the uncertainty of the PGA Tour’s deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which finances LIV…

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