BMW Golf Cup International World Final: Gary Player meets the best 138 amateurs from 48 nations in South Africa. Final round of the world’s largest tournament series for amateur golfers takes place on 4 – 9 March at the Fancourt Golf Resort. Golf legend Gary Player and BMW Board member Dr. Ian Robertson present the trophies.

Munich/Fancourt. 138 amateur golfers from 48 nations are counting down the days and hours. And although each of them is already a winner, their nerves will only increase as the greatest moment of their golfing lives approaches.
On 4 – 9 March 2013 the best amateur players from around the world – having qualified from a starting field of some 100,000 hopefuls – will go head-to-head amid the beautiful surroundings of the Fancourt Golf Resort in South Africa for the Word Final of the BMW Golf Cup International. The concluding event of the world’s largest tournament series for amateur golfers is an undeniably unique and unforgettable experience.

The competitors will line up in three categories – Men A (handicap of –12 or better), Men B (handicap of -13 to -28) and Ladies (handicap of –28 or better) – for three rounds totalling 54 holes to decide the individual winners. The net scores of the participants from the different countries are then added together for the National Team competition. The winners here will following in the footsteps of the Malaysians who have emerged victorious in each of the last three editions of the BMW Golf Cup International Word Final. The competition will take place over the Montagu and Outeniqua courses at the five-star Fancourt Golf Resort, which is hosting the event for the fifth time.

The connection between golfers and the BMW brand.
“This Word Final represents a suitably grand conclusion to a wonderful 2012 season. This year, the BMW Golf Cup International has featured 48 countries – the second-highest number of competing nations in the almost 30 years since the first Word Final was held,” says Eckard Wannieck, Head of International Sponsoring, Cooperations and Product Placement at BMW. “We are delighted to see such a wonderful response to the competition, which at the same time highlights the connection between golfers and the BMW brand.”

The finalists can look forward to a very special visit – above and beyond the sporting battles ahead. South African golfing legend Gary Player will hold a golf clinic for the competitors on the Friday. And in the evening, Player will join
Dr Ian Robertson, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Sales and Marketing, at a gala dinner to present the trophies. 77 years old he may be, but the nine-times major champion is brimming with vitality. Player designed all three courses at the Fancourt Resort.

“I am thrilled to join BMW as a special guest during the World Final of the BMW Golf Cup International in South Africa. BMW has done a wonderful job nurturing and progressing the amateur game, with the BMW Golf Cup representing the pinnacle for amateur golfers and over 100,000 competed to make it to the final at the spectacular Fancourt Resort.”

Off-course programme includes the BMW xDrive Experience.
The Fancourt Golf Resort near the Western Cape city of George on the spectacular Garden Route is one of South Africa’s oldest golf clubs. The estate was purchased by Dr Hasso Plattner, co-founder of German software giant SAP, in 1996 and has since attained a five-star rating. Offering 200 luxurious rooms, Fancourt is a member of the elite organisation The Leading Hotels of the World and is also included in the Leading Spas of the World listings. In 2003 it provided the venue for the President’s Cup professional golf competition between a team from the USA and a line up from the rest of the world, minus Europe. The list of sponsors for the BMW Golf Cup International Word Final also features Hugo Boss, South African Airways and Titleist.

The competitors and their companions will arrive at Fancourt on Monday, 4 March. On the Tuesday they will have the chance to play a practice round before the serious business begins: three tournament rounds (with no cut) from Wednesday to Friday to decide the winners. As well as golf, the guests will be treated to an exciting off-course programme, beginning on the Monday with an opening evening event and welcome for all 48 participating countries hosted by star South African TV presenter Jo Ann Strauss. An atmospheric Olympics-style flag parade is also on the agenda. The highlight of the off-course activities, however, is the BMW xDrive Experience. This off-road touring experience through the nearby mountains will be followed by a chance to taste some local wines.

The competitors in the BMW Golf Cup International Word Final therefore have good reason to be feeling a mixture of both nerves and feverish anticipation. For the majority of their number, the final chapter in this tournament series will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The best four German amateur golfers from a field of 13,500.
Four German players are among those gripped by excitement ahead of the week in South Africa. Stefanie Köhler (Golfressort Semlin am See/HCP 19.5), Marcel Zilles (GCG Großensee/0.4), Quan Anh Nguyen (GC Franzensbad/19.6) and André Mues (Vestischer Golfclub/27.3) secured Word Final places in their respective handicap classes in a match-play German final at the Golf- und Land-Club Berlin-Wannsee in early October. The first three will also make up the German team at the Fancourt Golf Resort, with Mues only able to play out of competition as his class is not contested internationally. “I’m looking forward to South Africa enormously,” beams Men’s A winner Marcel Zilles. “I hope we can perform successfully and represent Germany’s many amateur golfers in suitable style.”
A total of around 13,500 amateur golfers took part in some 120 tournaments between May and October 2012 in Germany alone to decide the overjoyed winners.