BMW Golf Cup International World Final to be Played in Los Cabos

Teams of amateurs from 34 countries will vie for prestigious title at Cabo del Sol

(Los Cabos, Mexico) – The national winners of the BMW Golf Cup International will tee it up in Los Cabos, Latin America’s premier golf destination, from March 18 – 23.

BMW is one of golf’s most important global partners, both on a professional and amateur level. The premium automobile manufacturer is a worldwide partner of the Ryder Cup as well as an organizer or title sponsor of three iconic BMW professional tournaments in the U.S., England and Germany. The company also organizes the world’s largest international tournament series for amateur golfers, the BMW Golf Cup International.

Each year, roughly 100,000 amateur golfers from about 35 countries play a series of tournaments around the world as part of the BMW Golf Cup International. Each player has a single goal in mind: qualification for the World Final. Approximately 100 players will gather to compete at this unique global event, to which BMW has invited top performers since 1995.

This year’s host site is an ideal venue for the BMW Golf Cup International. Situated at the place where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortes at the tip of the Baja Peninsula, Los Cabos boasts an extraordinary mountain-desert-ocean environment where the game’s top designers have crafted some of the world’s finest courses. With seven of the top 10 courses in Mexico based on Golf Digest’s “Planet Golf” report, Los Cabos is the undisputed golf capital of Latin America. Add 340 days of sunshine per year, low humidity and cooling sea breezes, and Los Cabos emerges as a flawless destination unique to itself.

The World Final will be played at Cabo del Sol, a magnificent 36-hole facility. Finalists and their guests will stay next to the golf club at Sheraton Grand Los Cabos Hacienda del Mar, a lovely property patterned after a colonial Mexican village.

“The BMW Golf Cup International boasts everything that makes the sport of golf so special: beautiful yet demanding courses, competitive and high-class competition, but also respect for each other and the opportunity to make new friendships and have a great time together,” said Christian Masanz, head of BMW Golfsport Marketing. “This is also why we have chosen Los Cabos as the venue for the World Final. This beautiful place has everything to fulfill this promise.”

The World Final far eclipses the standards of a normal amateur competition. Participants are treated to a professional-standard tournament on world-class golf courses; attend dazzling evening and off-course events with their guests; and enjoy friendly encounters with players from around the planet.

The BMW Golf Cup International is open to golfers who are members of an internationally recognized national association through their golf club. The tournament is divided into three handicap classes: Men A (up to handicap 12); Men B (handicap 13 to 28); and Ladies (up to handicap 28). Each nation determines a winner in each category at qualification tournaments in their respective home countries, organized by BMW dealerships. The number and format of these qualification tournaments can vary in individual countries. However, one aspect remains the same in all participating nations: the victorious trio travels to the World Final.

Both venues at Cabo del Sol will be utilized during the World Final. The Ocean Course, featuring several holes set along the Sea of Cortes, is the layout that put Los Cabos on the international golf map when it opened in 1994. Intent on producing the ‘Pebble Beach of the Baja,’ designer Jack Nicklaus charted grand-scale holes across gently sloping terrain creased by sandy arroyos and backdropped by stony mountains. The ebb and flow routing leads players to the sea on both nines. Giant cardon cacti, craggy granite outcrops and deep sculpted bunkers frame the fairways and greens. The Ocean Course is ranked No. 70 on Golf Digest’s “World 100 Greatest Golf Courses” roster.

Routed in mountain foothills high above the Ocean Course, the Desert Course at Cabo del Sol, debuted in 2001, was Tom Weiskopf’s first design effort in Mexico. All 18 holes serve up panoramic views of the glittering sea. Shoehorning holes into rugged desert terrain crisscrossed by canyon-like barrancas, Weiskopf produced a brilliant layout, dishing out broad fairways flanked by rock outcrops and a dense cactus forest. To defend the sloping greens, Weiskopf built large bunkers with distinctive capes and bays. With its strategic risk-reward options and enticing blend of long and short holes, the Desert Course presents a classic test.

Cabo del Sol’s Ocean and Desert courses are served by a 36,000-square-foot Mexican Colonial-style clubhouse accented by open-air verandahs and landscaped terraces.

Among the event’s confirmed partners are Oakley, HUGO BOSS, Titleist, and the Los Cabos Tourism Board. Team Thailand is the defending champion of the BMW Golf Cup International World Final.

In addition to BMW executives, VIP guests will include Colin Montgomery, a Scottish professional who is a fixture on the PGA Tour Champions circuit and who won a record eight European Tour Order of Merit titles from 1993 to 2005.