BMW Major Champion Challenge: “Dazzling” opening to the BMW International Open, with García, Stenson, Kaymer and the most coveted golf trophies in the world.

  • Martin Kaymer (US PGA Championship 2010, U.S. Open 2014),
    Henrik Stenson (Open 2016) and Sergio García (Masters 2017) open
    the BMW International Open with entertaining competition at BMW Welt.
  • BMW presents all four major trophies in Munich for first
    time.
  • Major winners arrive in style in the BMW M6, BMW Z8 and
    Rolls-Royce Dawn.

Munich.
Three major winners arrived at BMW Welt in three iconic cars
to kick off the tournament week with a bit of fun. The BMW Major
Champion Challenge provided a dazzling opening to the 2017 BMW
International Open. Who is champion of champions? This was the
question that needed clearing up before the tournament gets underway.

In recognition of major winners Henrik Stenson (SWE), Sergio García
(ESP) and Martin Kaymer, who are always up for a bit of fun and a
challenge, tournament organiser BMW arranged the BMW Major Champion
Challenge to herald the start of the BMW International Open with an
engaging competition on a relaxed summer evening. Stenson won the
novel chipping competition in front of BMW Welt.

Before the competition got underway, all three players enjoyed the
drive from the Hilton Munich Park hotel to the Tee-Off Night at BMW
World – a journey made at the wheel of three stunning cars. Defending
champion Stenson, who backed up his win at the 2016 BMW International
Open with a breath-taking victory at the Open Championship just a few
weeks later, drove a British icon: a Rolls-Royce Dawn.

García, the proud owner of the Green Jacket, found the perfect car to
go with the most famous item in his wardrobe: a BMW M6 in the BMW
Individual colour Verde Mantis. Kaymer, the only German to have won
the BMW International Open, opted for a BMW Z8, a classic roadster
that was certain to remind him of his emotional victory at Golf Club
München Eichenried in 2008.

The three players were travelling with valuable luggage. Stenson
brought the Claret Jug (Open Championship) with him, García the Green
Jacket (Masters), and Kaymer both the U.S. Open Trophy and the
Wanamaker Trophy (US PGA Championship). The complete collection of
golf’s most coveted trophies thrilled guests at the Tee-Off Night in
the Double Cone building at BMW Welt, at which the groups for the
following day’s Pro-Am were drawn. The guests are among the three
million visitors per year who come to BMW Welt to find out more about
all the brands in the BMW Group in one impressive experience world.

Quotes from the BMW Major Champion Challenge.

Sergio García: “It was great. Good fun. We enjoyed
it. It’s good to be back in Munich playing the BMW International Open
again. Every tournament we play is special. Obviously, the Masters is
amazing, but that doesn’t mean that this week’s BMW International Open
is not a big tournament or important. We come here to play the best we
can and to give ourselves an opportunity to win. That’s the plan for
the week. Hopefully I can do it on Sunday.”

Henrik Stenson: “We had a fun time here at the home
of BMW in Munich. I’ve played this tournament many times and, of
course, it’s nice to be back here as defending champion. Munich is a
lovely city and BMW always puts on a great show for us. It’s a fun
competition here in front of the guests. But still, it’s always nice
to put it closer than not. If I can keep Sergio and Martin behind me
for the rest of the week, that will be nice too.”

Martin Kaymer: “I only knew the BMW Z8 from the James
Bond film, and that was a few years ago. It was very nice to get to
drive it now. It is not something you see every day on the roads. The
challenge was fun. Events like that are always very nice for the
guests, and it is obviously a nice way for us to feel our way into the
tournament a little.”