The tourism body is the lead sponsor of the golf tournament among a consortium of five, including AIB, Allianz, Waterford Crystal and Bord Bia. The companies have paid 9.5m over the past eight years for the rights to associate their brands with the tournament, with Failte Ireland putting up more than half the amount, 4.9m, and the other four splitting the balance.

Effectively that means the state is the largest single sponsor of the golf tournament but as far as both Failte Ireland and Bord Bia are concerned the Ryder Cup money represents tax payers' euros well spent. John Rafferty, Failte Ireland's head of product marketing, said the amount paid to secure the sponsorship was small relative to the opportunity it presents to promote Ireland as a tourist destination. "When Ireland secured the Ryder Cup we secured it at a really attractive rate, " he said.

With over one billion television viewers expected to tune in to the event during the week and 40,000 people attending the matches at the K Club in Co Kildare each day, the 4.9m is buying a lot of eyeballs, " Rafferty said. He claimed the direct tourism revenues from the tournament itself would be about 130m but said the opportunity to promote the country as a tourist destination was equally valuable.

Rafferty said much of Failte Ireland's promotional activity for the year will be tied in to the Ryder Cup, which has also been a key part of its activity at international events and trade shows for the past eight years.

Jim Deegan, professor of tourism policy at the University of Limerick, said in terms of "the cost to get this kind of exposure" it was difficult to argue with Failte Ireland's decision to hitch its wagon so firmly to the tournament. "This thing can do more for you probably in one fell swoop than the marketing budget for Failte Ireland for years, " he said. Gerard O'Neill, managing director of Amarach Consulting, said in terms of "cost per 1,000 people reached", the sponsorship appeared to be "very cost effective". "It's really about awareness and opportunities for exposure, " he said.

But Tim Crow, director of London-based consultancy Karen Earl Sponsorship, is sceptical about the extent to which the Irish sponsors are exploiting the event. Crow described the line-up as being "mainly B2B [business to business] sponsors" and said they had comparatively little to gain from high-profile association with the Ryder Cup and the media coverage it will generate. "The event has outgrown the sponsors. A lot of them, I would say, are wasting their money, " he said.

Crow, who has advised on sports sponsorship deals including Royal Bank of Scotland's sponsorship of the Six Nations Rugby tournament, said some of the Ryder Cup sponsors appeared to be more interested in corporate hospitality around the event than in using the association to effectively promote their brands.

"I would argue that if you asked 100 golf fans across the world to name a sponsor of the Ryder Cup they would struggle to name one and that is a pretty damning indictment, " he said. "Quite a lot of them are just there for the hospitality and that's got to be the worst hospitality buy of all time because you can buy hospitality without being a sponsor at a fraction of the cost".

Bord Bia, however, believes the event has significant value as an opportunity to build relationships with customers and potential customers. Bord Bia will be entertaining executives from top supermarket multiples in the UK, US and throughout Europe at the Ryder Cup.

Michael Murphy, Bord Bia's director of European markets, said the event has proved a very tempting carrot for top executives in the food and drink industry.

Bord Bia was a relative late comer to the Ryder Cup sponsorship party. The food board was a replacement for Aer Lingus which pulled out of its sponsorship commitment in 2001 as part of a cost-cutting drive instigated by then chief executive Willie Walsh.

"This deal was done five years ago. The sponsorship opportunity at the price we've got is a very good deal, " said Murphy. Growth in television audiences and in the popularity of the event through the two Ryder Cups that have taken place since the 2006 sponsorship deal was agreed, means sponsors for future editions of the tournament are paying much higher prices, he said.

Bord Bia expects to bring between 80 and 100 "CEOs, chairmen and trading directors of important customers from around the world, " to Kildare for the event, according to Murphy. "The Ryder Cup tickets and hospitality is an opportunity to get to people you wouldn't get to that often and getting them to Ireland certainly helps, " he said.

The Ryder Cup sponsorship will be by far and away Bord Bia's "biggest ticket item" in terms of its marketing budget for the year, said Murphy. He would not divulge the exact figure but it is understood the board will spend upwards of 3m on promotional activities and hospitality around the event.

"It's the biggest sponsorship we've ever undertaken, " said Murphy.