The South African men’s professional golf tour, Sunshine Tour, is set to offer Bitcoin prizes for the top three golf professionals on the leaderboard at the end of the 2022 season. This is the first time BTC prize money is being given in a sports competition in Africa.
According to the announcement, cryptocurrency platform Luno is the official crypto investment partner of the Sunshine Tour, and the new sponsor of the Luno Order of Merit.
The leading golfer will receive South African Rand 500,000 in Bitcoin from the Luno Order of Merit, while the second-ranked golfer, and the third-ranked golfer will receive R200,000 and R100,000 in Bitcoin respectively.
Luno will also sponsor each professional golfer on the Sunshine Tour with R1000 in BTC to encourage them to use the exchange’s mobile app.
The sports industry and the crypto sector go hand-in-hand with a lot of exciting partnerships being unveiled on a daily basis. In March, Crypto.com became the official sponsor of the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
The Sunshine Tour will also use the new sponsorship to switch from a money-based to a points-based ranking system beginning in May 2022.
This will level the playing field for players fighting for the top spot on the Order of Merit at the end of the season.
The winners will also receive a year-long luxury vehicle sponsorship and admission into two of golf’s major tournaments, the US Open and the British Open.
Thomas Abt, Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour, stated “We are constantly evolving for the benefit of our member professionals. The Luno Order of Merit perfectly encapsulates the value we place on evolving golf systems and pioneering initiatives that appeal to our younger golfing audience.”
Marius Reitz, Luno’s GM for Africa, noted “We are delighted to partner with the Sunshine Tour as this thinking aligns perfectly with our vision to put the power of crypto in everyone’s hands by making it safe and easy to buy, store and learn about crypto.”
