Tournament week kicks off in style with Opening Show Event – Victory for Austria’s BMW Golfsport Ambassador.
Golf stars in football shirts, “The Mechanic” on the bag, and a beaming winner: Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger had cause for celebration at the Opening Show Event, which literally kicked off the tournament week at the BMW International Open
Wiesberger and the other ten players in the “BMW Foot Golf Challenge” put on a thrilling show for golf fans on the 18th green at Gut Lärchenhof.
The 28-year-old, who is supported by BMW Austria, showed he had the necessary ball control to guide a football into an over-sized hole. The entertaining competition went down to a play-off, with Wiesberger eventually seeing off his closest rivals Francesco Molinari (Italy) and local favourite Marcel Siem (Germany), who finished second and third respectively.
“Now I know why Austria did not qualify for the World Cup,” said Wiesberger. “They knew beforehand that I would be playing at the BMW International Open during the World Cup, so would be unable to join them in Brazil!”
The goal of the “BMW Foot Golf Challenge” was to take as few shots as possible to hole the football. Wiesberger, Molinari and Siem were the best of the pros, each taking just two attempts. Wiesberger then holed his first shot in the play-off, albeit from a shorter distance.
The eleven players took to the course in the style of a football team – led by Tournament Director Marco Kaussler in referee attire. Each of the golf stars was accompanied by a youngster from the youth sections of Gut Lärchenhof and Hummelbachaue golf clubs as they entered the arena on the 18th hole. American John Daly was represented by his son Little John, while the proud father followed the action from afar. He was joined on the bench by cigar-smoking Spaniard Miguel Angel Jiménez, who was also on caddie duty.
Marcel Siem was given a Baby Racer as a special prize. The German became a father for the second time just a few days ago. And rising French star Victor Dubuisson produced one of the many highlights of the day with an ace in the “Hole-in-One” competition on the 18th.
