The cream of world golf will gather for The European Tour’s Annual Players’ Awards on Tuesday evening to celebrate the phenomenal success of last season and toast the glittering array of champions.
All 12 members of the European Ryder Cup Team which defeated the United States last October, plus their Captain, Colin Montgomerie, will be reunited to reminisce about the thrilling victory, and they will be joined by the man who will lead Europe in 2012, José Maria Olazabal.
All four reigning Major Champions – Graeme McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer and Charl Schwartzel – will also be present at the ceremony, which will be hosted by Diana Dougherty, David Livingstone and Steve Sands and aired on Sky Sports and the Golf Channel.
Seven of the top ten players in the current Official World Golf Ranking are European Tour Members – Lee Westwood (One), Luke Donald (Two), Kaymer (Three), McDowell (Five), Rory McIlroy (Six), Schwartzel (Seven) and Paul Casey (Nine) - and all will be present at the function before they turn their attentions to contesting the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club, which starts on Thursday.
As well as toasting The European Tour’s fabulous last 12 months, the event will feature tributes to Seve Ballesteros, who died on May 7 after a two and a half year battle with cancer.
It is 20 years since Ballesteros won the last of his titles over Wentworth’s famous West Course, which was redesigned last year by Ernie Els.
Els’ compatriot Schwartzel will collect the evening’s first award when he is presented with Honorary Life Membership of The European Tour in recognition of his victory in the Masters Tournament in April. Schwartzel birdied the last four holes at Augusta National to win by two shots for his maiden Major triumph, and will be given a silver Honorary Life Membership card and money clip.
McDowell, who won three European Tour titles last season including the US Open Championship last year, will be presented with The European Tour 2010 Shot of the Year Award for his brilliant putt on the 16th hole of his singles match against Hunter Mahan in The Ryder Cup.
The tricky 20-footer put the Northern Irishman two up against Mahan, and he went on to claim the deciding point for Europe, sparking joyous scenes at The Celtic Manor Resort.
McDowell will later join Kaymer in presenting Matteo Manassero with the Rookie of the Year Award. The Italian teenager became the youngest winner in European Tour history when he won the Castello Masters Costa Azahar in October, underlining his reputation as one of the most talented young players in the game.
The evening will end with Olazabal discussing with European Tour Chief Executive George O’Grady what lies in store at The 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club, as well as paying a final tribute to Ballesteros, who embodied the spirit of golf’s greatest team competition.
