Europe’’s six-time Volvo Order of Merit winner, Colin Montgomerie, will launch his defence of the 1999 Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth Club chasing a record first prize of 303,350 euro.
The top cheque is a landmark for the hugely successful Volvo-sponsored event, the flagship tournament of the PGA European Tour, in that it will be the first time the winner will take home in excess of 300,000 euro from a European Tour organised event.
A total prize fund of 1,820,000 euro will be on offer, an increase of 140,000 euro on 1998, with six-figure prizes at stake for the leading three players. The winner will receive 303,350 euro, the runner-up 202,300 euro and third place is worth 113,930 euro.
Ken Schofield, Executive Director of the European Tour, commented: “The increase in the prize fund for the 11th successive year underlines the superb support Volvo continue to offer the European Tour and its Members.
“Volvo’’s commitment to quality and excellence in every aspect of their business has been invaluable in the development of the European Tour and in nurturing the three outstanding tournaments staged under Volvo’’s title sponsorship.
“We sincerely appreciate this support and look forward to another truly outstanding Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth Club in May.”
Montgomerie captured his 15th European Tour title last year employing the same nerveless tactics which helped Europe retain the Ryder Cup at Valderrama in 1997.
In the Ryder Cup, he needed an iron nerve to halve his match with Scott Hoch and secure victory for Europe. Over the immaculate West Course at Wentworth Club, Montgomerie was again a study of tranquility as he wedged to nine feet from 105 yards and rolled in the winning birdie putt.
A final round 69, following a marvellous 65 on Sunday, secured a first Volvo PGA crown - rated by Montgomerie as golf’’s fifth major - by one stroke from Italian Open champion Patrik Sjöland, Gary Orr and two-time US Open champion Ernie Els.
After his triumph, Montgomerie commented enthusiastically on the size of the purse and the value to the winner of the top cheque. He said: “The Volvo PGA Championship is the European Tour’’s flagship event and is one trophy I always wanted to win. It shows the strength of the European Tour and just how far we have come.
“The money we are playing for is terrific. We’’ve got a great European Tour now and a very strong one, very strong, and one that can compete with the best in the world.”
The 1997 winner, Ian Woosnam, reflected on that success and said: “This is one of the great Championships of the world.” Costantino Rocca, who won in 1996, added: “The Volvo PGA Championship is the most important tournament in Europe after the Open Championship.”
Since the inception of the special relationship between the European Tour and Volvo in 1988, the total prize fund has grown from humble origins of 490,000 euro to its new, impressive level of 1,820,000 euro.
A total of 4,970,000 euro will be at stake this season for European Tour Members from the three tournaments bearing the famous Volvo brand name - the Volvo PGA Championship, the Volvo Scandinavian Masters and the Volvo Masters - and the new Volvo Bonus Pool.
Mel Pyatt, President and Chief Executive Officer of Volvo Event Management, said: “We look forward to another exciting Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth Club.
“The success of the Championship re-affirms the strength of Volvo’’s close bond with the European Tour which has been built on a mutual long-term strategy of quality and commitment to excellence.”
That long-standing relationship was renewed at the end of last year with the announcement of an extension of the partnership between Volvo and the European Tour through to and including 2002.
This further three-year extension to the existing contract prompted Mel Pyatt to say: “Our common aim has always been to raise the profile and quality standards within European golf as a whole, and we believe that has been substantially achieved.”
Volvo, who remain ‘Official Car’’ to the European Tour, have also announced a new structure to the Volvo Bonus Pool under part of the re-allocation of their event programme.
The Pool will be open to players who support a minimum of two of the Volvo tournaments, one of which must be the Volvo Masters, which Darren Clarke won in such breathtaking fashion at Montecastillo Hotel & Golf Resort last October.
Volvo have allocated 350,000 euro to their Bonus Pool, with 140,000 going to the winner of a table covering total prize money won from the three Volvo tournaments. Second in the table will receive 84,000 euro, 56,000 euro for third, 42,000 euro for fourth and 28,000 euro for fifth.
