Golf Starlet Brandon Stone Joins IMG, Partners with PING

South African golf star Brandon Stone announced today he has appointed IMG, no rx the global sports, viagra fashion and media company, sale cialis for exclusive worldwide management and marketing representation after turning professional while also revealing Ping as a sponsor

Stone headed to the United States on a golf scholarship last year as the top ranked amateur in South Africa and has had a freshman year to remember, winning the 2013 Big 12 Conference Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, the Bayou City Collegiate Championship and the Big 12 Championship. Last week, he was announced as the 2013 NCAA Freshman of the Year and a Ping First Team All-American.

Explaining his decision to sign with IMG, the industry leader which also manages his fellow countrymen Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Branden Grace, Trevor Immelman and Richard Sterne, Stone said, “I have had an amazing year in Texas and I would like to thank the University of Texas Golf coaches and my teammates for their support. I am very excited to turn professional and get started with the next phase of my golf career. I spoke to a lot of management companies but IMG, with all of their offices around the world and many decades of experience, make them the perfect fit for me. Initially, I will need invitations to play and IMG has the global influence to ensure I get the opportunities to compete in the right tournaments to give myself the best possible chance to win cards in Europe and the US.”

He continued, “My first start will be at the BMW International Open and I am very grateful for the opportunity BMW are giving me and hope I reward them with a great performance.”

Brandon will be managed by Duncan Reid out of the London office with assistance from Katie Gordine and Jacques Retief from IMG South Africa.

Reid, who also manages Ernie Els and Branden Grace, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Brandon to IMG and believe he has a very bright future ahead of him.  His achievements over the past couple of years have been remarkable and along with his fantastic golfing ability he is an extremely charismatic young man who will be very appealing to sponsors.”

PING Signs On as Sponsor 

Stone also revealed he signed an agreement to play with PING equipment.

As part of a multi-year agreement, Stone will wear a PING hat, carry a PING staff bag and play a minimum of 11 PING clubs, including a PING driver and PING putter. Financial terms and the length of the agreement were not disclosed.

PING Chairman & CEO John A. Solheim, said: “Brandon is a wonderful example of a young man coming up through PING’s amateur program, which reaches into every corner of the world to identify and develop talent. Our South African distributor, Doug Vilas, has had a connection with the Stone family for many years, so there’s a comfort level with Brandon that we feel contributes to his success. He has incredible skills but on top of that he has a great work ethic, and his determination makes him very tough to beat. Yet with all of his early success, he has a good head on his shoulders. He’s well-grounded. We look forward to continuing our relationship and giving him what he needs to achieve his goals.”