The Scandinavian Masters, the largest annually recurring sporting event in Scandinavia, will have a new sponsor for the 2006 tournament, namely the Nordic banking firm EnterCard.
The EnterCard Scandinavian Masters at the Barsebäck Golf and Country Club in Malmö, Sweden, from August 3-6, 2006, will be the 16th staging of an event which has become a firm favourite on The European Tour International Schedule and one which boasts an impressive Roll of Honour.
Eight time European Tour Order of Merit winner Colin Montgomerie has won the title on three occasions, Lee Westwood triumphed in 2000 on his way to topping the Order of Merit, and Major Champions Nick Faldo and Vijay Singh have also tasted success, while the reigning champion is Australian Mark Hensby, who beat home hero Henrik Stenson in a play-off at Kungsängen Golf Club last season.
“We are very happy that we have now established a partnership with EnterCard at the very highest level of sponsorship,” said Staffan Östlund, Managing Director of Scandinavian Masters AB.
“EnterCard is the most creative and expansive company of its kind on the market, and is a perfect match for the Scandinavian Masters. We are looking forward to successful cooperation with EnterCard and bid them welcome to the Masters family,”
Markus Edström, Managing Director of EnterCard Sverige AB, said: “EnterCard's involvement as title sponsor is a natural development of our strong co-operation with the Swedish Golf Federation, SGF, offering services to Swedish golfers.
“Swedish golf is an important partner for us, and through the ‘Medlemskort MasterCard’ credit and membership card we assist SGF by offering added value to its members. We cement the importance of this cooperation through our role as title sponsor for the EnterCard Scandinavian Masters.
“The cooperation with SGF, with the organisation's ambitious plans to develop and strengthen the position of the Masters tournament as a leading golf tournament in Europe, is also natural in the light of our common approach to growth. It is very much in line with our own ambitions to establish EnterCard as the leading credit card issuer in the Nordic and Baltic region,” Markus Edström continues.
EnterCard was established in July 2005 as a joint venture between Barclays Bank PLC and FöreningsSparbanken AB. It brings together the Norwegian and Swedish credit-card operations of FöreningsSparbanken, Sweden’s leading retail bank, and the credit-card capabilities of Barclaycard, a global powerhouse in consumer finance. The business manages over 600,000 card accounts and employs 150 staff across Stockholm, Oslo and Trondheim. Already a significant player in Norway and Sweden, our goal is to grow EnterCard into the leading credit-card issuer in the Nordic and Baltic Region.
