IMG announced that Northern Ireland's Cormac Sharvin has turned professional and signed with the company for worldwide management and marketing representation. Sharvin joins the professional ranks after an amateur career which saw him rise as high as No. 14 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, as well as win the Irish Amateur Close Championship, the 2015 English Open Amateur Strokeplay Championship and the BUCS Student Tour Grand Final. He represented Great Britain and Ireland in the 2015 Walker Cup, winning his three matches (IMG). ... Goodyear announced a three-year contract to supply the FIA European Truck Racing Championship. The partnership sees Goodyear extend its long-term commitment to the FIA ETRC, in which it has produced specially developed truck racing tires for over a decade (FIA). ... Smartphone-powered fitness hardware Wahoo Fitness has "extended its partnership with Team Sky for a third year" until '16. The deal sees Wahoo’s relationship with Team Sky expand to "now become the official supplier of bike trainers and heart rate monitors to the team" (ISPORTCONNECT, 1/29). ... Panasonic will return as title sponsor of a new 150M yen ($1.27M) professional golf tournament in Japan this April, "with the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour co-sanctioned event aimed at boosting the Olympic aspirations of the region's stars." Organizers announced the Panasonic Open Golf Championship "will be staged at the Chiba Country Club, Umesato course in Noda City, Chiba prefecture," which is some 40km east of Tokyo (THE SPORTS CAMPUS, 2/1). ... Dutch football magazine Voetbal Int'l has "entered into a media partnership with the Eredivisie," the Netherlands’ top football division. As a media partner of Eredivisie Media & Marketing, the league’s commercial arm, Voetbal Int'l "will have access to exclusive content produced by Fox Sports, which holds a controlling stake in EMM" (SOCCEREX, 2/1). ... Russia's VTB Bank renewed its contract with the Int'l Gymnastics Federation (FIG) for '16. The contract includes a donation of $1M, a large part of which will be used as developmental funds for the continental unions (FIG). ... Super League rugby signed a deal with U.K. canned peas brand Batchelors Peas, making it an official partner ahead of the '16 season. An on-pack promotion will launch in February and run until November, offering fans the opportunity to win Rugby League prizes. Batchelors Peas will feature in all Super League matchday programs, on pitch perimeter boards and big screens and on all official competition interview backdrops (Super League).
