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Grant Thornton LLP, one of the nation’s largest professional services firms, will announce today its largest sports sponsorship in company history with a trio of new partnerships. Under dual five-year partnerships agreements, Grant Thornton will become an Official Professional Services Firm of the PGA TOUR and a Proud Partner of THE PLAYERS Championship.

“When you look at who we are as an organization, we’re focused on integrity and honesty and have a long-standing commitment to our core values,” said PGA TOUR commissioner Jay Monahan. “We’ll be working alongside each other for at least five years — and we expect longer than that — so we needed a good understanding of who they are.”

Monahan says he was able to spend time with some of the partners at Grant Thornton and instantly saw synergies.

“It is clear as an organization their commitment to volunteerism is very strong, and I saw a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. That’s the kind of partner we want.”

Additionally, Grant Thornton signed a separate partnership with 2015 Players Champion Rickie Fowler who comes into the deal fresh off a win at the Hero World Challenge this past weekend.

Both Monahan and Fowler commented on the alignment with Grant Thornton as a brand who’s on the cutting edge.

“Grant Thornton views themselves as the challenger brand,” said Monahan. “They have a great commitment to technology and innovation and being ahead of the curve and always evolving for their customers, and that’s how we view ourselves.”

Fowler felt similarly when asked about the core values he looks for in brand partners.

“For me, I don’t just want sponsorships – I want partnerships. I want to be with corporate partners who fit and align with who I am as a player.

“So, being able to partner with Grant Thornton is a good fit because I think we both thrive on being different and pushing the limits.”

Grant Thornton’s brand positioning is “Status Go,” which represents its commitment to challenging the status quo in a forward-thinking way.

“Can you name a golfer — or even another athlete — who’s better able to challenge convention, to be transformational, to think in new ways and be a difference-maker [than Rickie Fowler]?” asked John Harmeling, Chief Marketing Officer of Grant Thornton.

“He truly embodies ‘Status Go’ – the idea of playing the same course as everyone else, but with a completely different game.”

Fowler will wear Grant Thornton’s logo on his right chest in all competitive rounds on the PGA Tour and in other professional appearances beginning in 2018. You’ll also catch him in the firm’s national advertising campaign.

Grant Thornton will be one of just three Proud Partners of THE PLAYERS, which will provide for premiere positioning during the telecast on Golf Channel and NBC. In addition, Grant Thornton will have a broad presence on the course and throughout hospitality venues on-site.

“THE PLAYERS is our flagship property. It’s literally the championships that’s designed for and operated for our members,” said Monahan. “It’s our incubator — we’re always introducing new tech and innovations at this event, which is consistent with who Grant Thornton is as an organization.”

“It also allows them to build relationships with their important clients and prospects by presenting their brand through our flagship property.”

For the company’s largest sports sponsorship in history, Harmeling says thought went into where in the sports landscape the brand should plant its flag.

“Golf matters to the people we do business with,” he said.

“We did an incredible amount of research before entering into these relationships, and learned that PGA TOUR fans and viewers dramatically over-index against our target audience, more so than any other sport — and by a material margin.”

Data shows 90% of Fortune 500 CEOs play golf, and 93 percent cite golf as an effective way to build business relationships. Additionally, Harmeling says many of Grant Thornton’s clients are already involved with The TOUR in some capacity.

That’s not the only data that should make Grant Thornton optimistic. According to a recent study conducted for SportsBusiness Journal by Turnkey Sports & Entertainment, 78% of avid PGA Tour fans indicated they would purchase products/services if the company is an official sponsor of the PGA TOUR, outpaced by only MLS (83%) and NASCAR (81%).

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