The Masters Tournament is one of the most prestigious tournaments on the PGA golf tour. The winner’s green jacket is one of the most coveted prizes in all of sports. And then there are the cash winnings. The overall prize pool for this weekend’s 2008 Masters will be about $7.5 million, and the winner will win approximately $1.3 million.

Such large amounts of money and prestige attract the best golfers in the world, as well as some of the largest corporate sponsors in the world. The two major sponsors for the Masters are Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) and AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T). IBM (International Business Machines Corp., NYSE:IBM) is also a major sponsor, particularly with powering of the Masters’ website and online live video coverage.  The Masters provides live video coverage on the website of Amen Corner (holes 11-13) and Holes 15 & 16—this coverage is also picked up by the likes of ESPN.com and CBSsports.com. On the Masters’ live online streaming platform, as well as on the website, Exxon Mobil, AT&T, and IBM logos are very prevalent and constantly shown and rotated.

I do not know how much these corporate sponsors are paying for their sponsorships, but I do know that it is a significant amount of money, and you can be assured that it is worth the cost to them. To be consistently mentioned and placed in front of so many eyes for 4 straight days is a considerable boost to a company’s mindshare of their customers. Sponsors receive placement on everything from the TV coverage to the website to banners and promotional products at the event.

It is almost impossible to judge the effectiveness of sponsorship of an event such as this—who can tell how many new sales and new business for a company result from the sponsorship? Yet despite the difficulties in tracking the ROI of corporate sponsorships, the sponsors continue to come and pay, which is a good thing because many sports, conferences, and events are dependent on them for survival.