THE WEDNESDAY FEATURE

ICM Stellar Sports is making great progress in golf!

As fans cheered and Nacho Elvira lifted the tournament trophy to bring the first Cazoo Open Supported by Gareth Bale to a close, there were big smiles all round at what we had achieved.

“The golf was great, the weather was kind and there was a worthy winner,” says ICM Stellar Sports Head of Golf Matt Wylie, “but the best thing was being able to demonstrate to so many people in the industry just what ICM Stellar is about and what we can deliver.”

ICM Stellar co-promoted the Celtic Manor European Tour event following a three-year-deal with the Tour.

Matt is fanatical about supporting golf but he also has a vision of how ICM Stellar and ICM Partners will be a positive force in the evolution of the game. He cites the way darts has changed over the years from niche sport to must-see event. 

“Golf is part of the entertainment business and as one of the biggest sport and showbusiness agencies in the world this is something we are uniquely placed to understand,” he says.

“While our plan is to sign up and support the very best of golfing talent, we also want to broaden the appeal of golf itself and help improve everything that goes on around the tournaments. We want to bring more star quality to the events and help to make them even-better experiences for fans and the brands who sponsor players and competitions.

“The conversations we are having with players, brands and organisations are going really well. With one event we’ve probably advanced about three years in terms of where we want to be.”

Already in the pipeline is the next Cazoo Open Supported by Gareth Bale, which will take place between August 1-7, 2022, and a new competition for amateur players which will take place during a Welsh Festival of Sport. Conversations are also advancing for an ICM Stellar supported “transatlantic” tournament.

As for the golf, it was won by Spaniard Nacho Elvira, who edged out South African Justin Harding in a play-off to take his first European Tour title.

In keeping with Matt’s golfing philosophy, we were also delighted to be able to give one of the World’s top Amateurs and two-time Walker Cup player Alex Fitzpatrick an invitation to play, an opportunity which he excelled at. 

“Alex didn’t look out of place with the top professionals in Europe and held his nerve to make birdie on the 36th hole to make the cut on the mark and advance to the weekend,” Matt said.

“He is a great player and we have no doubt he will take lots of confidence from this before he plays in the US Amateur at Oakmont Country Club,Pennsylvania, in a couple of weeks’ time.

“It has been great to work with everyone who helped make this such a successful event and huge congratulations have to go to Nacho. You could tell this win meant the world to him and it was a very proud moment to see him lift the trophy in front of the ICM Stellar Sports logo and know we are already helping make golfing dreams happen.”