This means that HSBC will become the 'official banking partner' of The Open Championship, which next year will return to Royal St George's from 14-17 July at Sandwich, Kent.

R&A's chief executive Peter Dawson said, "We are very pleased to welcome HSBC. For many years, The R&A has looked to establish relationships that help golf’s growth globally. As it seeks to engage in and support activities to grow the game, a partnership with bank is a natural progression."

Over the last five years, HSBC has been at the forefront of the expansion of the game in Asia with the creation of the HSBC Champions in China, which it has helped develop from inception in 2005 to become Asia’s first World Golf Championship tournament. It has also created a comprehensive programme of grassroots activity across China designed to increase both interest and participation in the game.

Group head of sponsorship at HSBC Giles Morgan said, “The Open Championship is one of the world’s most important golf tournaments and HSBC is very honored to become a patron. Golf sponsorship continues to be an important investment tool for us to grow and sustain our business and brand. This new partnership is an exciting opportunity to take our current activity with professional and grassroots golf in both established and emerging markets to a new level.”

The R&A is the governing body of world golf outside the US, with affiliated national governing bodies in 126 countries around the world. In 2010, 200,000 spectators attended the championship and over 3,000 hours of television coverage were broadcast to 193 countries worldwide. There were over three million unique visitors to The Open’s official website during this year’s Championship, with 300,000 hours of streamed coverage via the internet.