Author: claudius.mackes

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European Tour

Rory McIlroy to tee it up at Scottish Open on European Tour

Rory McIlroy will tee up at the 2021 Scottish Open. (Foto: Getty)

Four-time Major Champion Rory McIlroy will bring further star power to a world-class field assembling at the 2021 Scottish Open after confirming he will be one of five players from the top ten of the Official World Golf Ranking to tee it up at the Renaissance Club from July 8-11.

McIlroy will make his seventh appearance at Scotland’s national open – and his first since 2019 – as part of a star-studded line-up including World Number One and recent U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm, and the third, fourth and fifth ranked players, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele.

Rahm, the current Race to Dubai Rankings in partnership with Rolex leader, will go in search of a fifth Rolex Series title when he makes his Scottish Open debut alongside fellow Major winner Morikawa and four-time PGA Tour winner Schauffele, while the 2017 US PGA Championship winner Thomas returns for a second appearance.

World Number 11 Tyrrell Hatton will also look to add to his multiple Rolex Series titles when he tees it up alongside fellow 2018 Ryder Cup stars Tommy Fleetwood, Francesco Molinari and Henrik Stenson, the current European Ryder Cup Captain Padraig Harrington, and his newly appointed Vice Captains Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell.

Reigning Race to Dubai Champion Lee Westwood is also confirmed for this year’s event, alongside 12-time European Tour winner Ian Poulter, fellow Englishman and defending champion Aaron Rai and their compatriots Matt Fitzpatrick, Matt Wallace and 2016 Masters Tournament champion Danny Willett, who have 17 European Tour titles between them.

Leading the home charge will be Robert MacIntyre, the highest-ranked Scotsman in the world at 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking, while American stars Billy Horschel, Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris are amongst the players making their debuts as the second Rolex Series event of the 2021 Race to Dubai takes it’s traditional slot in the week before The Open.

A strictly limited number of tickets are on sale now for each of the four Scottish Open competition days. Tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be available on site during the tournament.  To purchase your tickets, click here.

Categories
Ladies Tours

Meet Sol, the official mascot of the 2023 Solheim Cup

Los Arqueros Golf hosted the unveiling of the mascot of the competition which will be held at the Finca Cortesín (Costa del Sol, Andalucía)

Los Arqueros Golf hosted the unveiling of the mascot of the competition which will be held at the Finca Cortesín (Costa del Sol, Andalucía)

Energy, light, optimism, life, hope, warmth and joy are some of the values transmitted by Sol, the official mascot of the Solheim Cup that was presented Friday afternoon, June 18th in a fun event that took place in the Costa del Sol club of Los Arqueros Golf. The event was attended by Francisco Salado, President of the Provincial Council of Málaga, José Antonio Mena, Mayor of Benahavís, and Nuria Rodríguez, Malaga Tourism Delegate for the Junta de Andalucía, on behalf of all the entities and institutions that sponsor and support this biennial international competition between the United Stated and Europe women teams that will be hosted for the first time in Spain from September 18-24, 2023.
Sol delighted all the guests at the event and the children of the golf schools of the Costa del Sol who accompanied her in Los Arqueros. The mascot wore its finest clothes in a festive exhibition that starred together with Laura Gómez and Ana Peláez, young Spanish golfers from Málaga who dream of being able to play in the first edition of the Solheim Cup to be played in Spain.
The Solheim Cup begins with “Sol” (“sun” in Spanish), an unequivocal link with Andalucía and the Costa del Sol, and a perfect representation of the image that those who visit our country have in mind. Like the star, Sol arrives with the intention of illuminating the future and setting the course for the youngest golfers in Spain, becoming the friendly and unforgettable icon of this competition.
“We are very excited about the role that Sol will play from now on, as it will contribute to bring the competition closer to the younger fans around the world and will serve to identify the tournament with a key element of our country, Andalucía and the Costa del Sol. We would like the whole sporting world orbiting around Sol and the Solheim Cup in 2023, and that’s why all the institutions, organizations and companies that support the competition are doing our best,” explained Alicia Garrido, executive director of Deporte & Business.
The 2023 Solheim Cup, an event of Exceptional Public Interest that will be hosted at Finca Cortesín, is sponsored by PING, Costa del Sol and Rolex as Global Partners; and by AndalucÍa, Acosol, the local council of Marbella and the local council of Benahavís as Official Partners.

Categories
European Tour

European Tour unveils ‘every birdie counts’ campaign to support UNICEF

European Tour is delighted to announce a season-long campaign to support UNICEF (Picture: Getty)

The European Tour is delighted to announce a season-long campaign to support UNICEF’s target to  deliver two billion COVID-19 vaccine doses globally. Through the ‘Every Birdie Counts’ campaign, the Tour’s overarching ‘Golf for Good’ initiative will contribute to the child rights agency’s global role in delivering vaccines for the COVAX Facility.
 
COVID-19 is, without question, the biggest global emergency the world has faced since World War II. Vaccines – delivered through the COVAX Facility – are the key to finding a way out of the crisis.
 
UNICEF is the only global organisation equipped to deliver an operation of this size. Utilising an existing global infrastructure that has provided humanitarian aid and development programmes for children worldwide 75 years, UNICEF is currently leading the supply of two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines and personal protective equipment (PPE), tests and treatments to frontline workers, teachers and those at highest risk of infection, many of them in the hardest to reach places on the planet.
 
This is the biggest health and logistics operation in history. UNICEF is working round the clock to make sure systems are ready and all the equipment is in place to distribute the vaccines. The plan is ambitious, the scale and speed unprecedented.
 
Now, the European Tour players have the opportunity to do their part on the golf course through the ‘Every Birdie Counts’ campaign, which is an integral part of the Tour’s overarching CSR Programme ‘Golf for Good’.
 
From now until the end of the season – and also counted retrospectively from January – every birdie made in tournaments on the European Tour will see the Tour contribute €1 to the campaign, every eagle seeing €10 donated and every albatross netting €1000.
 
Every birdie could provide four face masks to keep health workers safe as they vaccinate their communities, while every eagle will result in a donation to UNICEF which could cover the in-country delivery costs to fully vaccinate a frontline worker against Covid-19.
 
UNICEF will be the sole charitable beneficiary of the ‘Every Birdie Counts’ campaign across the entire European Tour season, outside of the four Rolex Series events, where charities nominated by tournament sponsors and partners of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, the BMW PGA Championship and the DP World Tour Championship will also benefit.
 
Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, said: “One of the key pillars of the Golf for Good initiative we launched last year is our support for worthy causes and communities around the world – I can’t think of a more appropriate, or indeed necessary cause to support under that banner right now than UNICEF and their key role as part of the COVAX Facility.
 
“The work UNICEF have done for the past 75 years and are currently doing in the battle against the pandemic is extraordinary and we are delighted to be able to offer our support, and the support of our players, in any way we can.
 
“Every birdie, eagle or albatross made by any of our players in a tournament is a special moment; this announcement today has just given a greater resonance and meaning to each and every one.”
 
Gordon Glick, Deputy Executive Director for Partnerships at the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK), said: “The European Tour’s support of UNICEF’s COVAX appeal is helping ensure rapid and equitable access of COVID-19 vaccines – irrespective of a country’s wealth. By supporting UNICEF, the European Tour is helping the overall effort to procure and deliver two billion doses of life-saving vaccines for all 191 countries participating in the COVAX Facility, including those already facing humanitarian challenges. Together, we can deliver the world’s largest vaccination campaign, in record time, and build a brighter future for the world’s children.’
 
One European Tour member eager to pledge his support to the campaign is England’s Paul Casey, who as well as being a 15-time European Tour champion and four-time Ryder Cup player, is also a UNICEF Supporter.
 
Casey said: “UNICEF does amazing work that is not often seen and if I can do anything to help, it is to raise awareness of what the child rights agency do around the world which, in turn, will hopefully lead to funds being raised so the teams can carry on their efforts.
 
“What UNICEF are doing now on behalf of the COVAX Facility is crucial, delivering two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines around the world, most notably in very hard-to-reach places. Those vaccines will be used for to health workers, social workers and teachers – the people in high-risk areas, as well as the most vulnerable.
 
“If they succeed, families will finally be able to regain vital access to health, nutrition and protection services that have been compromised during the pandemic. Vulnerable children will be able to return to their schools. The future of the next generation is at risk here and UNICEF can play a massive role in addressing that.”

(Text: European Tour)