European Tour Finds a Virtual Solution

DARTS led the way with a series of head to head matches featuring top players competing against one another from their living rooms while raising money for charity.

And now the European Tour has come up with a novel way of giving us - and some of their top players - our fix of tournament golf, albeit without crowds and caddies.

Martin Kaymer, Joost Luiten, Mike Lorenzo Vera, Lee Westwood and Bernd Wiesberger have been going head to head over 18 holes from their own homes in the BMW Indoor Invitational powered by TrackMan, a series of virtual golf tournaments using simulator technology. And the results can be seen over the coming weeks.

With tournaments suspended, many leading professionals have been turning to solutions at home, including the latest TrackMan software and simulators, to keep their golf game sharp.

The BMW Indoor Invitational will see them compete against each other, giving golf fans the chance to watch all the action on the European Tour’s social media channels using #BMWTrackManInvitational. Tournament footage will also be available via

https://bmw.trackmaninvitational.com

The new series will consist of five one-round (18 hole) strokeplay tournaments played virtually. Each tournament winner will receive $10,000 which they can give to their chosen charity or relief fund which has been helping communities impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Coming tomorrow, the first of our five #BMWTrackManInvitational virtual tournaments ???? pic.twitter.com/L87FmZoE7Q

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) 8 May 2020

The action will then shown on the European Tour’s social media channels each Saturday for the next five weeks:

Week 1

Saturday May 9

Course: St Andrews, Old Course

Week 2

Saturday May 16

Course: Royal Portrush

Week 3

Saturday May 23

Course: Golfclub München Eichenried

Week 4

Saturday May 30

Course: Real Club Valderrama

Week 5

Saturday June 6

Course: Wentworth

Rufus Hack, the European Tour’s Chief Content Officer, said: “While the absolute priority for all of us continues to be public health and well-being, we also recognise that golf fans are missing watching the leading players compete. Hopefully, the BMW Indoor Invitational powered by TrackMan can help fill the void while also benefitting charities or relief funds which have been so essential in the battle against Coronavirus.”

Jörn Plinke, Head of BMW Golfsport Marketing, said: “In a time when pro golf tours around the world are being forced to take a break, we are able to offer golf fans, as well as the pros themselves, a unique competition in the form of the BMW Indoor Invitational powered by TrackMan. We are looking forward to the coming weeks, an innovative format, and some exciting digital content. BMW enjoys long-term partnerships with TrackMan and the European Tour and shares the aspiration to also drive golf further with a digital format. Together, we have managed to create a new type of competition, which features a host of top players and, with the prize money on offer, supports local coronavirus initiatives.”

So how can you follow the action? Check out the European Tour social media channels, starting on Saturday, May 9:

Twitter: @europeantour

Instagram: @europeantour

YouTube: EuropeanTour

You can also view content via: https://bmw.trackmaninvitational.com