One wonders how the British KPMG Partners felt watching and supporting Phil Mickelson in The British Open at Royal Birkdale this Saturday when he finished +13 and tied for 53rd place on the leader board. Phil is undoubtedly one of the most talented golfers on the planet but his brilliance has rarely come to the fore in British or more accurately links conditions.
We are used to seeing all the player’s sponsorships on their hats, visors, shirts and bags but Phil is different sporting Barclays on the shirt and KPMG on the hat. Having enquired of Google KPMG appear not to support any other golfers and one wonders whether it is a worldwide financial contribution or purely Stateside where he is normally on the leader board. Reading of Phil’s estimated earnings on Wikipedia from the course and merchandising one wonders how many Partners incomes the hat sponsorship equates to?
It all leads nicely to a fantasy question. Excluding Tiger Woods (because we would all say him) who would you want to represent your business in a hat sponsorship if you could afford it? Current champion Padraig Harrington would certainly feature. Well balanced, tidy, good teeth and certainly an ambassador, unlike Monty who might bring the wrong sort of publicity to your business.
Whilst Miguel Angel Jimenez missed the cut I like his style of play and his laid back image unlike Jim Furyk who looks a bit dour but probably is not.
Paul Casey would put in a challenge, as might Darren Clark another Barclays Capital man, or Lee Westwood. How about the newly wed Greg Norman – maybe not, unlikely his form will last but my favourite for Lambert Chapman LLP would be Ian Poulter though at times he does dress too conservatively!
