European Tour Press Release

ONE MILLION EURO BONUS FOR
WINNER OF IRISH OPEN AND
BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

Players competing in the Irish Open and the BMW PGA Championship in successive weeks next month have been handed a unique incentive to capture both those prestigious titles – a bonus of one million Euro.
That is the tempting prize on offer to anyone who achieves the feat of winning the Irish Open at Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort in Co. Limerick, Ireland, from May 17-20, then follows up by claiming the BMW PGA Championship crown at Wentworth Club, Surrey from May 24-27.
The initiative, conceived by Tom Kane, proprietor of Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort, and endorsed by BMW and the European Tour, means that the golfer who can complete this unique double will win a grand total of Euro 2,141,660.
A first prize of Euro 416,660 is on offer to the winner of the Irish Open while the winner’s cheque at the BMW PGA Championship amounts to Euro 725,000, with the Euro 1 million bonus awarded if the same player wins both titles.
No-one has previously won the two titles back to back – the tournaments have historically been played in different months – but three legends of the game, Seve Ballesteros (1983), Bernhard Langer (1987) and Ian Woosnam (1988) have all captured the titles in the same season while other luminaries such as Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie and José Maria Olazábal have won both events but in different years.
Tom Kane said: “The Irish Open at Adare Manor is delighted to be the driver behind this unique €1 million bonus prize on offer to a golfer who can win both these great events.
“I have no doubt that this bonus prize fund will help encourage even more of the world’s top players to participate at Adare Manor from May 17-20 and it would give me no greater pleasure than to see our Irish Open champion make the trip to Wentworth the following week and capture the €1million bonus prize.
“I am delighted that we now have in place a mutually beneficial association with an event as prestigious as the BMW PGA Championship and I firmly believe it reinforces our commitment to creating a new and improved brand for the Irish Open.”