Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia showed the kind of soft touch that is so important around the greens when they cuddled one of the world’s most endangered animals, a Giant Panda cub, ahead of this week’s Volvo China Open. The European Tour stars and Ryder Cup teammates visited Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, where they held Ya Yun, a seven month-old cub which is part of the largest captive born Giant Panda population in the world.

Three-time Major winner Harrington is using his trip to China for a family holiday and was accompanied by his wife Caroline and children Patrick and Ciaran, who also had the rare opportunity to look after Ya Yun.

George O’Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour, has praised the role of the UAE in changing the face of golf as a journey that started 22 years ago with the first Dubai Desert Classic continues today with an international schedule of 50 events across 29 destinations.

Speaking at the KPMG Golf Business Forum 2011 at Park Hyatt Hotel in Dubai today (Monday) O’Grady reflected on The European Tour’s first visit to the region in 1989 and how that first step taken at the magnificent Emirates Golf Club with its iconic Arabic Tent clubhouse, set in motion a chain of events that is, today, fundamental to the development of The European Tour.

SiG Solar, specialist in distributing photovoltaic products, has become the Official Partner of SV Werder Bremen, commencing with the 2011/2012 season. The sponsorship was arranged by Infront Sports & Media and includes a strong advertising presence in the Weser Stadium. SiG Solar will benefit from the wide reach and popularity of the German Bundesliga.

SiG Solar - based in Brinkum, near Bremen – sells state-of-the-art solar systems, produced by the Chinese manufacturer Sun Earth Solar Power, throughout Europe. It will advertise at the club's home games, displaying a family of brands including SUN EARTH (solar modules) and etropolis (electric-powered scooters).

Infront Sports & Media has secured Tissot as Official Timekeeper and Sponsor of the FIM Superbike World Championship – the international road racing series organized and promoted by Infront Motor Sports (the Rome-based subsidiary of Infront). The comprehensive sponsorship agreement over several years will start immediately. Tissot will have its first appearance at the upcoming Superbike round in Assen, Netherlands
(15-17 April 2011).

The Swiss-based company Tissot is a member of the Swatch Group, the world’s largest watch producer and distributor. Tissot’s long-term commitment to the FIM Superbike World Championship is a considerable extension of its existing sponsorship portfolio and acknowledges the strong international scope and fan appeal of the leading road racing series for production-based motorcycles. In 2010, the series was shown in 173 countries, reaching a cumulative audience of 498 million viewers (+33% compared to the previous year).