BMW Drives The Presidents Cup 2011

MULGRAVE, AUSTRALIA – May 31, 2011: BMW Australia has been confirmed as official vehicle supplier of The Presidents Cup 2011, to be played in Melbourne, November 15-20, 2011.

As official vehicle supplier, BMW Australia will provide more than 50 luxury vehicles for use by players and organisers during the premier golfing event.

The Presidents Cup, which is being held in Australia for the first time in 13 years, will be played at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club, the site of the International Team’s only victory in this esteemed competition.

A team of top golfers from the U.S.A. will be captained by Fred Couples and compete against an International Team captained by Greg Norman. While the teams are not finalized until September, current front-runners in the standings include Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and Steve Stricker for the United States; and Charl Schwartzel, Ernie Els, Australians Adam Scott and Jason Day for the International Team.

Players are not personally paid for their participation in The Presidents Cup; there is no purse or prize money. Each competitor, instead, designates charities or golf-related projects of his choice to receive a portion of the funds raised through the staging of each Presidents Cup. On behalf of the players, captains and captains’ assistants, more than $4.2 million was distributed to charitable causes from The Presidents Cup 2009. Additional donations were made to The First Tee of San Francisco and the Victorian Bushfire Appeal in 2009 and to the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal following the Queensland floods in March 2011. In total, more than $23 million has been raised for charity since the inception of The Presidents Cup in 1994.

BMW Group Australia Managing Director Phil Horton said support for The Presidents Cup was a reflection of BMW’s passionate global commitment to golfsport.

“BMW is proud supporter of many of the world’s leading golf tournaments and events,” he said.

“BMW’s involvement in golf extends from the pinnacle of the sport at the professional level right through to the BMW Golf Cup, the world’s largest and longest-running amateur golf tournament,” said Mr. Horton.

“We are proud to support The Presidents Cup, a truly first-class event befitting the ultimate driving machine,” he said.

”We are extremely excited about BMW’s involvement in The Presidents Cup 2011” said Matt Kamienski, Executive Director of The Presidents Cup. “BMW is synonymous with quality and excellence and has a long standing tradition of supporting golf events and other major events both here in Australia and around the world. They are a perfect addition to our family of partners and suppliers supporting this year’s event.”

At the conclusion of The Presidents Cup, the BMW Golf Cup Final will be played on the same course on 22 November. Players who have progressed through 32 tournaments conducted by BMW dealers around the country will compete for the chance to represent Australia at the BMW Golf Cup World Final to be held in February 6 – 11, 2012 at Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore.

BMW is a global partner of major professional tournaments such as the BMW Championship, Ryder Cup, BMW PGA Championship, the BMW Asian Open and BMW International Open.