For almost a quarter-of-a-century, Volvo has been a pioneer in men’s professional golf, first in Europe where it became the first overarching sponsor of the European Tour and subsequently in Asia in general and China in particular, where it became the first western brand to engage with golf and can be closely aligned with the development of the game in what is now world golf’s fastest growing territory.

Volvo is the only ever-present title sponsor across the European Tour and holds the world record for a title sponsor, approaching 125, the largest number of professional golf events staged under one corporate marque.

1. Timeline:

Pre-1988: Volvo first signaled its interest in golf as a suitable vehicle for the brand, initially through a low-key internal event initiated by its Swedish founders Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson, for which the original gold cup still exists, then, in 1970 and 1971, two editions of the ‘Volvo Open,’ were staged, first in Gothenburg then in Stockholm, with some of the world’s leading golfers of the time, including Jack Nicklaus took part.

1988: Volvo entered into a groundbreaking agreement with the fledgling European Tour, which became known as the ‘Volvo Tour,’ and saw the Swedish brand at title sponsor of the two flagship events, the Volvo PGA Championship and the Volvo Masters, as well as the Volvo Order of Merit, the winner of which enjoyed an end-of-season bonus from the ‘Volvo Bonus Pool.’

In addition, Volvo, through its UK subsidiary took on the title sponsorship of the Volvo Seniors Open between 1988 and 1990.

The introduction of the Volvo Tour heralded a number of initiatives for which the sponsor is widely credited for professionalizing the European Tour, namely the provision of courtesy cars, players’ lounges, full-service practice facilities and media centres at every European Tour event.

1990: Volvo took on the title sponsorship of the Volvo German Open, one of the European Tour’s most prestigious events and remained as title sponsor until 1997.

1991: Volvo became title sponsor of its first European Challenge Tour event, the Volvo Finnish Open, supporting the event until 2001.

1994: Volvo took its award-wining golf sponsorship to Asia for the first time as title sponsor of the Volvo Masters of Malaysia, part of the fledgling Asian PGA Tour.

1995: Volvo became title sponsor of the developing Scandinavian Masters; by the time another title sponsor took over in 2002, the Volvo Scandinavian Masters has become one of the most prominent tournaments in mainland Europe.

In 1995, Volvo also added the Volvo Masters of Thailand to the Volvo Masters of Malaysia on the Asian PGA Tour and became the first western brand to recognise the potential for golf in China by sponsoring the newly-formed national open golf championship, the Volvo China Open and the umbrella Volvo China Tour.

1996: The second Volvo China Open became the Swedish brand’s 50^th title sponsorship, following the one and - to date only – tournament to be sponsored in South America, the Volvo Masters of Latin America in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

2000: The Volvo Finnish Open became the 75^th title sponsorship undertaken by Volvo since its first engagement with men’s professional golf.

2002: The Volvo Masters of Malaysia and the Volvo Masters of Thailand were amalgamated into the Volvo Masters of Asia, replicating the European Tour’s Volvo Masters as the season-ending Tour Championship.

2002 also saw one of the most remarkable finishes to a European Tour event when Ryder Cup stars Bernhard Langer and Colin Montgomerie were locked in a sudden-death play-off at the Volvo Masters at Valderrama; when darkness descended, the pair were still all-square and for the first and only time, one of Europe’s most prestigious titles was shared.

2004: Volvo helped the European Tour celebrate the 50^th anniversary of its flagship championship, the Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth, the final edition of the event to be sponsored by the Swedish brand.

Meanwhile, the Volvo China Open, in its 10^th anniversary season joined the European Tour, co-sanctioned by the newly-formed Asian Tour.

2005: The Volvo Masters became Volvo’s 100^th title sponsorship in men’s professional golf, setting a world record, whilst the inaugural Volvo China Junior Championship was staged in Beijing with the Senior Boy’s champion qualifying for the Volvo China Open itself.

2007: The 20^th anniversary Volvo Masters at Valderrama saw all past champions invited to play in the event, which was won by England’s Justin Rose.

2008: The 21^st and final Volvo Masters was staged at Valderrama, to be replaced by the Race to Dubai and the Dubai World Championship, modern-day versions of the Volvo Masters and Volvo Order of Merit respectively.

The seventh and final Volvo Masters of Asia was staged at the Thai Country Club in Bangkok and was won by Singaporean Lam Chih Bing.

Mel Pyatt retired as President & CEO of Volvo Event Management and was replaced by Per Ericsson.

2009: Volvo became title sponsor of the iconic Volvo World Match Play Championship, relocating the event to Finca Cortesín in Spain for the first time and attracting one of the strongest events in the 44-year history of the event, which was won by Englishman Ross Fisher.

Earlier in the year, the 15^th anniversary Volvo China Open was staged and co-sanctioned by the European Tour and OneAsia; won by Australian Scott Strange, he automatically qualified for the Volvo World Match Play Championship later that year.

2010: The strongest field ever assembled for the Volvo China Open saw both 2010 Ryder Cup captains Colin Montgomerie (Europe) and Corey Pavin (USA) take part alongside high-profile players who had travelled from the Masters at Augusta, one of whom, Korean YE Yang, the first Asian golfer to win a ‘major,’ took the title and the record first prize of US$416,660.

The Volvo China Junior Championship will again be staged at Beijing Bohing Golf Club from 2^nd – 5^th October 2010 with the Senior Boys champion once again qualifying for the 2011 Volvo China Open.

In addition, the headquarters Volvo Event Management – Golf relocated from Brussels, Belgium to Gothenburg in Sweden in 2010 in order to be juxtaposition the parent companies, Volvo Car Corporation and Volvo Group

2011: Volvo in Golf staged three professional and one amateur championships in 2011, commencing with the inaugural Volvo Champions Tournament in Bahrain, won by US-based Englishman Paul Casey, with the World Final of the Volvo World Golf Challenge, formerly Volvo Masters Amateur, taking place in parallel with the professional event in Bahrain, including, for the first time, ‘Playing with the Pros,’ in which Volvo customers and prospects enjoyed the opportunity of partnering the professionals in a European Tour event, televised live around the world.

The 17^th Volvo China Open, the national open golf championship of China was staged in April 2011, won by Belgian Nicolas Colsearts, followed by the Volvo World Match Play Championship at Finca Cortesín from 19^th – 22^nd May 2011 which was won by Ian Poulter from England.

Meanwhile, the seventh staging of the Volvo China Junior Championship took place for the first time away from the capital, Beijing, moving to Stone Lake Golf Club in Tianjin, Shandong Province, the event something of a landmark as Volvo’s 50^th title sponsorship in the People’s Republic of China, a world record.

2012: Volvo will again be the title sponsor of three European Tour events in 2012, including the circuit’s first-ever ‘Tournament of Champions,’ hosted by The Links at Fancourt, George, South Africa from 19^th – 22^nd January.

The event is open only to those players who won on the 2011 European Tour International Schedule, together with active European Tour members under the age of 50 who have at least 10 Tour titles to their name. The winner will earn €350,000 and a place in the line-up for the 2012 Volvo World Match Play Championship.

In addition, the World Final of the Volvo World Golf Challenge will take place alongside the Volvo Golf Champions in South Africa, as club golfers from all over the world seek to be crowned ‘World Champion’ in their own right as well as qualifying to ‘Play with the Pros,’ once again.

The 2012 Volvo China Open breaks new ground as it moves to the port city of Tianjin and the Pete Dye-designed Binhai Lake Golf Club with a prize fund of RMB20million; the 18^th event in the history of the Volvo China Open, the champion will earn not only RMB3.3million, but also a coveted place in the Volvo World Match Play Championship at Finca Cortesín in May 2012.

The Volvo World Match Play Championship takes place for the third time at Finca Cortesín in May 2012, with 2011 champion the only man to have secured his place to date in the elite 24-man field for what will be the 47^th edition of world golf’s most enduring match play event.