Top golfers from Africa and Europe will be eyeing lucrative Bitcoin (BTC) payouts at the end of the 2022 season after a new sponsorship of South Africa’s Sunshine Tour.
The year-long season sees golfers compete for the top spot on Sunshine Tour’s overall leaderboard - the Order of Merit. Crypto platform Luno, which has a big footprint in South Africa and the wider African continent, has assumed the title sponsorship of the overall rankings.
Money talks in sport but the language is certainly evolving, with Luno casting aside Rand-based awards for the top golfers on the Order of Merit in favor of Bitcoin. The golfer that tops the Luno Order of Merit will receive R500,000 worth of BTC - equivalent to $31,000 or 30,000 Euro at the current exchange rate.
The second and third-placed golfers will receive R200,000 and R100,000 in BTC respectively while Luno will also be sponsoring every professional golfer on the Sunshine Tour R1000 worth of BTC to encourage them to explore the exchange’s mobile application.
The Sunshine Tour is also using the new sponsorship to make a change to its rankings system, shifting from money-based to a points-based ranking from May 2022. This intends to create a more even playing field for golfers vying to top the Order of Merit at the end of the season.
There’s plenty to play for as well - with the number one spot also including entry to two of golf’s Majors in the US Open and British Open as well as a year-long luxury vehicle sponsorship.
Cointelegraph attended the sponsorship announcement at the prestigious Houghton Golf Club in the heart of Johannesburg and spoke to Luno’s general manager for Africa Marius Reitz, who has facilitated a couple of sports-focused marketing campaigns over the past year.
Luno
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