Team China wins first BMW Golf Cup World Final in Mauritius

The history of the BMW Golf Cup – and with it the BMW Group’s involvement in the game of golf – dates back to 1982. The first World Final of the tournament series for amateurs was played in 1995. 2023 saw a first in the long history of the competition: for the first time, the winners of their respective local competitions were invited to Mauritius for the World Final. The African island in the Indian Ocean hosted the international golf event, which as always was organised on a professional level and treated the World Finalists and their guests to an unforgettable week with many highlights.

“BMW tournaments have been wowing golf fans around the world for 40 years. The first BMW Golf Cup World Final in Mauritius was a fantastic event to celebrate the anniversary of the largest international tournament series for amateur golfers. The guests enjoyed a fantastic tournament week full of passion, excitement, and pure joy,” said Stefan Ponikva, Vice President BMW Brand Communication and Brand Experience. “The World Final is also characterised by the heartfelt encounters between people from a whole host of different countries and cultures. We are proud that BMW’s commitment to sport is giving our customers the opportunity to explore their passion, both among the professional ranks and as amateurs. This inspirational diversity is also lived out everywhere in the BMW Group and is an important factor for success.”

Amateurs can qualify for the World Final in three categories – Men A (HCP up to -12), Men B (HCP -13 to -28) and Ladies (HCP up to -28) – via the 800 BMW Golf Cup tournaments held all over the world each season. Winners are crowned in each of the classes at the grand finale and there is also a Team competition, towards which all the results count.

It was in this competition that the team from China triumphed with 332 points, ahead of Team Singapore and Team Chinese Taipei (both 325 points). The trio from Mauritius finished eleventh on home soil – level on points with the German team.

In the Ladies singles competition, victory went to Thailand’s Jirawan Chaiyanboon (118 points), ahead of Li Jiang from China, Kuei Hsian Shih (Chinese Taipei) and Australian Yeonhee Ko (all 114). The Men A class was won by Phogkij Phongam from Thailand (110), with China’s Yanping Liu (108) and Ji Yi Gong from Singapore (107) taking second and third place. Neil Janszen (113) won the Men B class for the Netherlands. Second place went to Shao Chienh Fu (Chinese Taipei), ahead of Weiping Yang (China).

All the winners were presented with their trophies at the closing Gala Dinner by guest of honour Fanny Sunesson. The Swede did not miss a day of the World Final and delighted the players and their guests, not only with her warm manner, but also by sharing her vast wealth of experience as a former caddie to some of the best golfers in the world – including Sir Nick Faldo and Adam Scott – and a teaching pro and consultant to the European Solheim Cup team. On several occasions during the week she hosted “Fanny’s Golf Experience”, a talk format that proved to be very popular and dealt with such topics as the role of a caddie, course management and the mental aspects of golf.

BMW would like to thank its partners Air Mauritius, Mauritius Tourism, Callaway and Oakley for the successful cooperation at the BMW Golf Cup World Final in Mauritius.

With great anticipation, attention now turns to the future. In 2024, the World Final of the 2023 BMW Golf Cup season will take place at the Fancourt Golf Resort in George, South Africa. BMW is looking forward to working with South African Tourism as its partner. South Africa and the Fancourt Golf Resort have been excellent hosts of the World Final on multiple occasions in the past. The country has been an important business location for the BMW Group for 50 years; they have had a production site in Rosslyn – to the north of Johannesburg – since 1973. Other divisions in South Africa include the BMW Group’s largest IT hub in the world, and BMW Financial Services. The BMW Group employs approximately 5,000 people in South Africa.