José Maria Olazábal will attempt to repeat his 1994 Augusta National-Wentworth Club double when he bids to win the 1999 Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth Club on May 28-31.
The 33-year-old Spaniard has confirmed that he will challenge for the 1,820,000 euro Championship over the Bank Holiday weekend following his magnificent triumph in the 1999 Masters Tournament.
In all there will be no fewer than seven winners of major championships in the Volvo PGA Championship with Seve Ballesteros, Ernie Els, Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle, Bernhard Langer, Olazábal and Ian Woosnam all chasing the 303,350 euro first prize.
Colin Montgomerie, winner of the Volvo Order of Merit a record six successive times, will defend the title he won last year when he beat Els, Gary Orr and Patrik Sjöland by one shot in a pulsating finish.
Moreover, all 12 members of the winning 1997 European Ryder Cup Team will compete with Thomas Björn, Darren Clarke, Ignacio Garrido, Per Ulrik-Johansson, Jesper Parnevik, Costantino Rocca, the 1996 Volvo PGA Champion, and Lee Westwood joining Faldo, Langer, Montgomerie, Olazábal and Woosnam in the field
Olazábal, who followed his first win in the Masters in 1994 by capturing the Volvo PGA Championship, gave himself the chance of emulating that feat with his wonderful victory in the 1999 Masters Tournament when he won by two shots from Davis Love III.
Faldo set the trend for the Augusta National-Wentworth Club double by winning the Masters Tournament and the Volvo PGA Championship in 1989. Langer emulated him in 1993 as did Olazábal the following year when he beat Els by one shot and Langer by three.
Faldo will be seeking a record fifth Volvo PGA Championship success following wins in 1978, 1980, 1981 and 1989. Ballesteros won in 1983 and 1991; Langer in 1987, 1993 and 1995 and Woosnam in 1988 and 1997.
Langer established the record score for the Championship when he put together rounds of 66, 69, 68 and 67 to win in 1987 with an 18 under par total of 270 which Ballesteros, who finished runner-up, described as “quite unbelievable golf”.
Record prize money of 1,820,000 euro was recently confirmed for the 1999 Volvo PGA Championship, representing a 140,000 euro increase. This maintains the upward trend every year since the inaugural Volvo sponsorship of the European Tour’’s flagship tournament in 1988.
Ken Schofield, Executive Director of the European Tour, said: “José Maria enjoyed an outstanding Masters Tournament, one that captured the imagination of the entire golfing world, and we now look forward to welcoming him to Wentworth in May.”
This year three Volvo-title tournaments - the Volvo PGA Championship, the Volvo Scandinavian Masters and the Volvo Masters - will have total prize money of 4,620,000 euro .
Mel Pyatt, President and CEO of Volvo Event Management, the company which oversees Volvo’’s involvement in sport, said: “We have, as always, an outstanding field for the Volvo PGA Championship and its enduring success is a reflection of the close partnership between Volvo and the European Tour. We can look forward to another Championship of the highest quality in May.”
The Volvo Bonus Pool, previously awarded to the leading 15 players on the final Volvo Order of Merit table, has been re-allocated in 1999 with 350,000 euro being split among the top five on a merit scheme based on the three Volvo events during the season.
To qualify, players must take part in a minimum of two Volvo tournaments, of which one must be the Volvo Masters at Montecastillo in October. The leader of that table will collect a special Volvo bonus of 140,000 euro descending to 28,000 euro for fifth place.
