Ernie Els,Lee WestwoodandMartin Kaymerwill joinRory McIlroyto make it a quartet of former World Number Ones at next week’s BMW PGA Championship, the first of eight Rolex Series events on the European Tour in 2018.
SpaniardRafa Cabrera Bello, the 2017 Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open champion, andBranden Grace, winner of the Nedbank Golf Challenge Hosted by Gary Player, have also confirmed their participation in the field at Wentworth Club, in Surrey, England. They join fellow Rolex Series winners from 2017, English pairTommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hattonand Sweden’sAlex Noren, who will defend his title at Wentworth after claiming the title 12 months ago, coming from seven shots back with a stunning final round 62.
Tickets for all four days of the tournament, Wednesday’s celebrity pro-am featuring a host of sports stuff includingPep Guardiola, Michael Carrick, Damian Lewis and Jamie Dornan, and weekend headline bandsRudimental(Saturday) andSimple Minds(Sunday) are availablehere.
South African Els was the first of the four to reach the summit of the Official World Golf Ranking when he overtook Tiger Woods in 1997, before holding the coveted position twice more in 1998. The World Golf Hall of Fame Member will be making his 22ndappearance at the BMW PGA Championship when he tees it up this year, and he has an impressive record at Wentworth, having won the former World Match Play Championship on seven occasions.
The four-time Major Champion was also instrumental in the extensive renovation of the West Course ahead of last year’s BMW PGA Championship, with Ernie Els Design and renowned consultants European Golf Design working closely with an advisory team which included Thomas Bjørn, Paul McGinley and David Jones on the successful programme of improvements.
In a similar fashion to Els, England’s Westwood reached the pinnacle of the sport by knocking off the dominant Woods. In ascending to the top position in 2010, Westwood ended Woods’ streak of 281 consecutive weeks as World Number One.
Westwood, who will be making his 25thconsecutive appearance at the BMW PGA Championship this year, finishing runner up on two occasions, sat at the top of the World Ranking for more than four months before he was overtaken by Kaymer in February 2011.
Kaymer’s own rise to World Number One came the year after he won the first of his two Major Championship— the 2010 US PGA Championship— and the German is making his 12thconsecutive appearance at Wentworth, with his best finish a share of seventh place in 2016.
Els, Kaymer and Westwood will join four-time Major Champion McIlroy in the field, with the Northern Irishman hoping to reclaim the prestigious title he won in 2014.
As well as the return of the Rolex Series, the BMW PGA Championship marks the next stage in the Ryder Cup qualification campaign with points earned at European Tour events from the event at Wentworth until Made in Denmark multiplied by 1.5 on both the World Points List and the European Point List.
Cabrera Bello, Fleetwood, Hatton, Kaymer, McIlroy, Noren and Westwood will all be hoping to take advantage to boost their chances of makingThomas Bjørn’s12-man team for Paris, as will a host of Ryder Cup players already confirmed for the $7million tournament, includingMathew Fitzpatrick, Thomas Pieters, Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell, Andy Sullivan, Danny Willett, Chris Wood and Paul Casey, the 2009 champion, who is making his first appearance at Wentworth in five years.
For further information regarding Official Hospitality and VIP Packages, please contact the Tour’s dedicated Hospitality Sales Team, who will be happy to answer any queries and discuss the various hospitality options, onenquiries@europeantourhospitality.comor +44 (0) 1344 840550.
