DraftKings has signed a multi-year content and marketing relationship with the PGA Tour to become the first official daily fantasy game of the professional golf tournament organiser.
The PGA Tour DraftKings Fantasy Golf series of contests will feature a number of competitions, including ‘classic’ format where fans draft a six-player fantasy roster each week.
DraftKings will also run ‘showdown’ contests, which require players to compile a team of six while staying under the designated salary cap for a single round of a tournament.
Players can compete with other fans or in private, fully customisable contests with friends and colleagues, with DraftKings and PGA Tour to offer a range of cash and golf-themed prizes.
As part of the agreement, fantasy players can register to receive real-time video highlights for golfers in their teams, while the PGA Tour and DraftKings will collaborate on a range of real-time product enhancements via the PGA Tour’s proprietary ShotLink powered by CDW data feed.
“Golf continues to grow in popularity among daily fantasy sports players globally at DraftKings and is our fourth-largest sport in terms of engagement, out of 15 total offerings,” DraftKings’ chief business officer, Ezra Kucharz, said.
“Our partnership with the PGA Tour signals a mutual commitment to excellence in customer experience along with a new era in golf fandom and engagement.”
Luis Goicouria, senior vice president for media at the PGA Tour, added: “We are excited to partner with DraftKings, an industry leader in innovation and fan engagement, in this ground-breaking step for the PGA Tour. The partnership with DraftKings provides the Tour with a unique opportunity to innovate in a new industry and to further engage our fans.”
The deal has been made possible after the PGA Tour in February expanded its sponsorship programme to consider gambling companies as official marketing partners for all six of its tours.
Last November, the PGA Tour also signed a deal with IMG Arena, under which the IMG-owned business holds exclusive rights to distribute the organisation’s scoring data for media and sports betting purposes.