2026 marks a significant milestone in the recent history of the OMEGA Masters. Swiss watchmaking house It is in fact celebrating its twenty-fifth year as Title Sponsor of the Crans-Montana tournament, a relationship that began in 2001 and has over time become one of the most recognisable elements of the link between OMEGA and international golf.
The edition scheduled for September 3-6 thus takes on a dual significance. On the one hand, it marks an anniversary for the brand, on the other, it continues a sporting tradition that extends much further back in time. The tournament, heir to the history of the Swiss Open and played continuously on the Crans-sur-Sierre course since 1939, is in fact the oldest European golf event held annually on the same course.
For OMEGA, its relationship with the event goes beyond sponsorship. Over a quarter of a century, the tournament has become a cornerstone of the brand's presence in the sport, alongside its Olympic Games activities and partnerships with some of the world's leading players.
Raynald Aeschlimann, President and CEO of OMEGA, emphasized that the 25th edition of the tournament represents a testament to a long-standing commitment. The tournament, he said, embodies key elements of the brand's identity: Swiss heritage, a focus on precision, and high-level sporting competition.
Since 1939, a history spanning generations
The history of the OMEGA Masters, however, predates the brand's arrival as Title Sponsor by many decades. Golf has been a fixture in Crans-Montana since 1939, and in 2026, the tournament reached its 79th edition, held at the Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club. The 2020 edition was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which explains the coincidence between OMEGA's 25th year of sponsorship and a different number of editions actually played.
Over the course of its long history, the competition has seen the success of some of the biggest names in international golf. Its list of honorees includes Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Ernie Els, and Sergio Garcia.
With the arrival of OMEGA in 2001, the tournament further consolidated its international dimension. Since 2009, it has been organized in collaboration with the European Tour and the Asian Tour, strengthening the connection between European and Asian golf.
The victory ritual has remained one of the event's hallmarks: the champion is presented with the trophy, the traditional red jacket, and an OMEGA watch. A combination that unites the sporting achievement with the manufacturer's history.
Champions who became Ambassadors
Over the past twenty-five years, Crans-Montana has also been a hub for competition and OMEGA's sporting strategies. Some OMEGA Masters winners have subsequently joined the brand's family of Ambassadors.
This is the case of Spaniard Miguel Ángel Jiménez, winner in 2010, Englishman Danny Willett, who took the title in 2015, Dane Rasmus Højgaard, and Matt Wallace. The latter, runner-up in 2022, won in 2024 after a playoff.
Among the expected players in 2026 are several Ambassadors and players associated with the tournament's recent history. Nicolai Højgaard arrives with a track record of success on the European circuit, including victory at the 2023 DP World Tour Championship, as well as appearances at the 2023 Ryder Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Angel Ayora, a young Spanish professional who played his first Major in 2026, will also be there, along with Rasmus Højgaard, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Danny Willett, Erik van Rooyen and Matt Wallace.
Italy will also be represented by Guido Migliozzi, a professional since 2016 and the winner of four victories on the European Tour, including his recent success at the KLM Open.
Rory McIlroy and that 2019 playoff
One of the most memorable episodes in the tournament's recent history dates back to 2019, when Rory McIlroy came close to winning the OMEGA Masters. The Northern Irishman actually went into a five-way playoff for the title, but failed to capture the trophy.
McIlroy has been an OMEGA Ambassador since 2013 and is one of the main faces of the brand's presence in golf. After his victory at The Masters in 2025, he joined the elite group of players capable of completing the Career Grand Slam, winning all four Majors at least once.
The OMEGA golf family also includes Wyndham Clark, Céline Boutier and Lottie Woad, one of the fastest-rising players in international women’s golf after turning professional in 2025.
Precision as a point of contact
For OMEGA, its relationship with golf is also based on a symbolic connection between two different worlds. The precision required by a mechanical movement and that needed to control a shot on the course are presented by the brand as parallel values.
Consistency, the ability to maintain performance and the pursuit of high standards are elements that OMEGA associates with its own watchmaking and, at the same time, with the characteristics required of high-level players.
The connection to sport, however, extends beyond golf. OMEGA has been involved in sports timekeeping for decades and served as Official Timekeeper at the Olympic Games for the 31st time, in Paris 2024.
Golf's return to the Olympic program in Rio 2016 after more than a century of absence further strengthened this connection. For Olympic competitions, OMEGA also developed technological systems for displaying game information, with scoreboards and instruments capable of displaying data such as speed, distance, and shot height.
From sports stars to the world of cinema
Over the years, the OMEGA Masters has also taken on a dimension beyond the main tournament. The Pro-Am competition, held prior to the competition, has brought professionals and guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment to the course.
Among the personalities who have participated in the various editions are George Clooney, Cindy Crawford, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Phelps, Eddie Redmayne, Glen Powell, Mondo Duplantis and Hyun Bin.
Cindy Crawford, a longtime OMEGA Ambassador, was among the first group of celebrities invited to compete in 1997 and has returned to Crans-Montana several times. Over the years, the guest event has continued to attract new stars, often competing alongside professionals in the OMEGA Celebrity Masters.
This component contributes to the particular physiognomy of the event, which combines the DP World Tour competition with a series of meetings and collateral initiatives.
Golf and watchmaking, two Swiss traditions
OMEGA's relationship with the OMEGA Masters fits into a broader context: the presence of sport in the brand's identity. The decision to link its name to the Crans-Montana tournament since 2001 has allowed the brand to build a rare continuity in the world of sports sponsorships.
In a period in which partnerships and commercial agreements often tend to change rapidly, the quarter century reached in 2026 represents above all a measure of the durability of this relationship.
For both Swiss and international audiences, the tournament continues to be an event that combines a long sporting tradition, the presence of great champions, and the role of a brand that has made precision its hallmark.
A Speedmaster dedicated to the dialogue between golf and watchmaking
The 2026 edition also gives OMEGA the opportunity to recall one of the models associated with its interpretation of sporty elegance: the Speedmaster Moonwatch in 18K Moonshine™ gold with a green dial.
The 42 mm model combines a sun-brushed green dial with a matching ceramic bezel. The case and bracelet are crafted from OMEGA's proprietary yellow gold alloy, while the movement is the Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 3861.
The watch meets the standards established by METAS, the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology, and represents, in the brand's intentions, a further point of contact between the color of the fairways and the technical research that characterizes its production.
Towards the 2026 edition
From September 3rd to 6th, Crans-Montana will once again welcome players from the European and Asian Tour circuits, called upon to compete on a course that has spanned nearly nine decades of golf history.
The winner will add his name to a list that includes some of the most important figures in the discipline and will receive, in accordance with now-established tradition, a trophy, a red jacket and an OMEGA watch.
For the Swiss watchmaker, however, the 2026 edition will have an additional significance. Twenty-five years after acquiring the naming rights, the OMEGA Masters continues to represent one of the most enduring relationships between a major watch brand and an international sporting event.
A silver anniversary that, looking at the history of the tournament that began in 1939, appears above all as a new stage in a journey destined to continue beyond the 2026 celebrations.
