IBM and the United States Golf Association (USGA) sign a new four-year agreement making IBM the official technology partner of the USGA. To commence the relationship, the organizations also announced the re-launch of usopen.com, jointly designed and developed by IBM and the USGA. IBM joins American Express and Lexus as the only corporate partners in the USGA's 113-year history.

IBM will help the USGA run the technology operations at the U.S. Open Championship (June 12-15) and provide scoring services for the U.S. Open as well as the U.S. Women's Open (June 26-29) and U.S. Senior Open (July 31-Aug. 3) Championships.

The 2008 usopen.com Website will be more engaging and more personalized for golf fans. It will be the first to allow fans at the course to post messages on-line via a new fan feedback application. In addition, the site will also have a more personalized experience with customizable player tracking and access to a rich array of on-demand video content, including player highlights, round highlights and course previews. The homepage will also offer exclusive real-time scoring and feature a video console with near-HD live-streaming video of Championship action over the four days, including marquee groupings and player interviews.

"Our partnership with the USGA enables us to apply IBM's technology and business expertise to help the USGA improve the game and make the U.S. Open accessible to more people than ever before," said Rick Singer, Director, Worldwide Sponsorship Marketing, IBM.

Over the past 48 years, IBM has partnered with various entertainment and professional sports, including the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and U.S. Open Tennis championships, the Masters, the NFL and Tony Awards, by providing results and competition management systems.

In fact, the whole of last year saw many IT and related services outsourcing deals being signed for the 2008 Olympics as well with Atos Origin. The provider firm also signed a contract with the U.K.’s Department for Culture, Media and Sports to design, implement and manage the IT infrastructure for them.

Similarly, another large association FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) signed two IT deals with Satyam, which would see the service provider develop a customized event-management system, and an extranet and an intranet for FIFA World Cup 2010 and 2014.