BMW PGA Championship 2020: “The BMW” is the biggest golf tournament of the year in Europe.

• The flagship event of the European Tour takes place this week (8^th to 11^th October) at Wentworth Club, near London.
• Defending champion Danny Willett (ENG) is joined by other fellow major winners: Patrick Reed (USA), Justin Rose (ENG), Martin Kaymer (GER) and Shane Lowry (IRL).
• English Ryder Cup stars Tommy Fleetwood, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton also tee off at the third event of the prestigious Rolex Series.
• BMW PGA Championship taking place behind closed doors, due to coronavirus pandemic.
• This year’s BMW Hole-in-One Award is a donation of £ 63,000 to the Alzheimer’s Society.

Wentworth/Munich. This week, the European Tour stages its flagship event at its headquarters. A world-class field will tee off at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club. After the cancellation of The Open Championship, the Rolex Series event, which boasts a prize purse of seven million dollars, is the biggest golf tournament of the year in Europe. As with all the tournaments on the European Tour since the re-start in June, the COVID-19 pandemic means that no spectators are permitted at Wentworth Club, for safety reasons. BMW is providing each of the 120 players with a car for the tournament week. In providing this service, the only one of its type to date on the European Tour, BMW is supporting the health and safety concept.

Last year, Danny Willett produced an final round of 67 to keep Jon Rahm at bay, having started the Sunday level with the Spaniard. Willet’s final score of 20 under par was the second lowest in tournament history, making the Englishman a worthy winner. “I cannot wait to defend my BMW PGA Championship title,” says the 2016 Masters champion. “Obviously, it will be a little different this year without fans but I know Wentworth will be in superb condition and hopefully we can put on a good show for the fans watching on television.”

The stage is set for another memorable tournament. As well as Willett, those teeing off on the West Course include fellow major winners Justin Rose, Martin Kaymer and Shane Lowry, as well as top players Tommy Fleetwood, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton and Bernd Wiesberger. World number nine and 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed, who leads the Race to Dubai on the European Tour, will also set his sights on the prestigious title at Wentworth Club.

The motto for the 2020 BMW PGA Championship is “Giving Back”, and the tournament is supporting various social projects. This also goes for the traditional BMW Hole-in-One Award, for which the pros will not receive a car this year. Instead, BMW will donate £ 63.000 to the Alzheimer’s Society for the first ace on the 14^th hole. This year’s Hole-in-One car would have been the all-new BMW 530e Touring.

In order to implement the distancing and hygiene regulations, the BMW PGA Championship will feature a first on the European Tour. For the first time, every player will receive his own car for the duration of the tournament week. BMW is providing 120 BMW X3 and BMW X5 vehicles for this service.