Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer headline European Tour’s virtual tournament series
The European Tour is returning to action, and St. Andrews and Royal Portrush are on the schedule.
Well, kind of.
The European Tour announced Monday the BMW Indoor Invitational, a series of five 18-hole virtual golf tournaments contested using TrackMan. The five-player field consists of Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Bernd Wiesberger, Joost Luiten and Mike Lorenzo Vera.
Each tournament winner will receive $10,000 toward the coronavirus-related charity or relief fund of their choice.
“While the absolute priority for all of us has been, and continues to be, public health and well-being, we also recognize that golf fans are missing watching the leading players compete,” said Rufus Hack, the European Tour’s chief content officer. “Hopefully, the BMW Indoor Invitational powered by TrackMan can help fill the void and provide our fans with some entertainment across the next five weeks whilst also benefiting charities or relief funds which have been so essential in the battle against coronavirus.”
Players will compete from their homes over the next three days, and the action will be shown on the European Tour’s social channels throughout the next five weeks.
Here’s the schedule:
- May 9: St. Andrews (Old Course)
- May 16: Royal Portrush
- May 23: Golfclub München Eichenried
- May 30: Real Club Valderrama
- June 6: Wentworth
The European Tour isn’t slated to resume normal competition until July 30, when two events will be played, the BetFred British Masters in England and WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis. A total of 17 European Tour events have been canceled or postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.