Celebrity stars joined Mike Rutherford and Friends for a night of entertainment at Wentworth Club in raising over £350,000 raised for the European Tour Foundation and Diabetes UK.
Rutherford, a founding member of 1980s rock superstars Genesis hosted an evening with his current band, the multi-million selling Mike and the Mechanics, as well as fellow music legends Roger Taylor from Queen, former Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and Tom Chaplin, formerly of Keane.
Fitzpatrick, a four-time European Tour winner and 2016 Ryder Cup player, was inducted as a European Tour Foundation Ambassador on the night and he was joined by a host of fellow players - as well as many other celebrities including Manchester City Manager Pep Guardiola - as they celebrated a hugely success first fundraising event for the recently-relaunched Foundation.
The European Tour Foundation is the European Tour’s charitable arm which supports the philanthropic activities of the Tour’s players, communities in which tournaments are played, and the development of the game of golf globally.
The funds raised by the European Tour Foundation on Tuesday night at the BMW PGA Championship Pavilion will fund eight golfers and their coaches to travel to compete at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi in March 2019, as well supporting charities in the local area to this week’s host venue Wentworth Club.
The money raised will also support Diabetes UK – the Official Charity of the BMW PGA Championship along with the European Tour Foundation - in their work to help those suffering with diabetes manage their condition as well as funding ground-breaking research to discover new treatments for the condition.
Other sport stars in attendance included legendary jockey Sir AP McCoy, former rugby stars Will Carling and Keith Wood, English football star Alan Shearer and fellow former Premier League hero Gianfranco Zola, as well as BBC television presenter Dan Walker.
Fitzpatrick, who tees it up in the first round of the prestigious BMW PGA Championship at 08:25 on Thursday morning, said: “I am delighted to become an Ambassador for the European Tour Foundation and it was a really enjoyable night which outlined what the Foundation is all about.
“I know just how important these kinds of initiatives are from the work I’ve done with the Sheffield Children’s Hospital in the last few years and I must thank everyone who so kindly contributed at the charity auction, as well as Mike Rutherford and all the other musicians who helped make it such a special night.”
Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, said: “It was a truly spectacular occasion at the BMW PGA Championship Pavilion on Tuesday night and it was great to see so many luminaries from the world of golf, sport and entertainment come together to support a very worthy cause.
“We are extremely proud of the work our European Tour Foundation is doing and I’m especially excited about the initiative which this particular fundraiser will support, giving eight talented young golfers the opportunity to follow their dreams at the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games.”
