Martin Kaymer and Louis Oosthuizen, the last two Majors Champions, have confirmed they will play in next month’s KLM Open, which will be one of the most sustainable sporting events in Europe.
Germany’s Kaymer will be highest-ranked player in the field following his victory in the US PGA Championship and will be joined by South African Oosthuizen, who triumphed at The Open Championship at St Andrews in July.
They will be joined by a host of other European Tour stars, including Robert Karlsson, 2007 KLM Open champion Ross Fisher, Alvaro Quiros, Francesco Molinari, Darren Clarke and Jeev Milkha Sing. Robert-Jan Derksen, Joost Luiten and Maarten Lafeber head a list of 15 Dutch players aiming to win on home soil.
The 91st edition of the tournament, which is being played from September 9 – 12 at the Hilversum Gold Club, will be carbon-neutral thanks to a large number of investments and measures taken in areas such as power supply
Tournament sponsors KLM, ABN AMRO, Deloitte and organiser THIS IS GOLF have been working towards making the tournament carbon-neutral, where the footprint of the event after taking preventive measures is compensated for.
An example is KLM’s compensating for the flights of the players with its CO2-zero programme, in which the CO2 emissions for each flight are calculated and compensated for by investing in clean energy projects. At the tournament, the players are transported in A-rated BMWs which use less fuel.
Since 2009, the Hilversum Golf Club has been classified as ‘Committed to Green’ in recognition of compliance to a programme developed by the Dutch Golf Federation to ensure the quality of nature and landscape on golf courses. In addition, the club will also be receiving the GEO certificate during the KLM Open. The GEO certificate is awarded by the Golf Environment Organisation (GEO), an international non-profit organisation seeking to promote the economic, social and environmental benefits of golf for the environment.
Tournament Director Daan Slooter said: “The decision to take action was made quickly. It surprised us that it was possible, even in a relatively short timeframe, to implement sustainability in so many areas. The positive and willing response from partners, sponsors and suppliers to help in that endeavour played a major part.
“It goes without saying that each year we strive to make the tournament more sustainably climate-neutral. We hope to set an example for other golf and sporting events around the world to stop talking and start doing.”
George O’Grady CBE, Chief Executive of The European Tour, said: “We are very conscious of golf’s environmental issues and we warmly support the initiatives being taken by the KLM Open.”
