Ryan Fox becomes first New Zealander to win the BMW PGA Championship.

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+++ Title win confirmed at last hole after thrilling final round +++
European Ryder Cup team in good form +++ BMW supports tournament
charity CALM +++ 109,635 fans visit flagship event on the DP World
Tour +++



Wentworth/Munich.
With rounds of 69, 68, 66 and 67
strokes Ryan Fox posted a final score of 270 (18 under par) on his way
to claiming the 2023 BMW PGA Championship title. At the Wentworth
Club, the 36-year-old celebrated the most significant win of his
career so far. It was the New Zealander’s fourth triumph on the DP
World Tour and his first win at a Rolex Series event. Fox produced an
effortless birdie at the 18th hole to move one stroke ahead of Aaron
Rai and Tyrrell Hatton, the winner of the 2020 BMW PGA Championship
(both ENG, -17).

“On behalf of the BMW Group, I would like to congratulate Ryan Fox on
winning the 2023 BMW PGA Championship. It was a challenging task to
overcome a world-class field, but Ryan demonstrated skill and
dedication in an impressive fashion. He is the well-deserved
champion”, said Ilka Horstmeier, Member of the Board of Management of
BMW AG, Human Resources and Real Estate. “The supporters, volunteers,
fans and everyone involved contributed to making the BMW PGA
Championship live up to its reputation as the ‘Festival of Golf’.”

Fox had begun the Sunday three strokes behind the leader after round
three, Ludvig Åberg from Sweden, and made a less than impressive start
with a triple bogey at the third hole. However, neither this nor the
storms that interrupted play during the afternoon threatened his
composure. Fox dropped no further shots, producing some faultless golf
and chalking up a total of eight birdies.

“It feels fantastic. I played great, pretty much from the third hole
on, didn’t miss a shot. The back nine was crazy. I made birdie from
the trees on 15, first hole back after the delay,” Fox said.
“I’ve always struggled a little bit around here. I think I’ve
snuck maybe one top 20 and struggled to make any cuts. To have a back
nine like that, especially after how I started, was amazing.”

The European Ryder Cup team, all of whom appeared at the BMW PGA
Championship and made the cut, looked to be in good form ahead of the
duel against defending champions USA, which will take place from 25th
September to 1st October at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club
(Rome, ITA) with Worldwide Partner BMW. Hatton was joined in the top
ten on the tournament leaderboard by Jon Rahm (ESP, -16, fourth
place), FedExCup champion Viktor Hovland (NOR, -15, fifth), Tommy
Fleetwood (ENG, -14, sixth), Rory McIlroy (NIR, -13, T7), Åberg and
Sepp Straka (AUT, both -12, T10). Defending champion Shane Lowry (IRL)
and Matt Fitzpatrick (ENG, both -10, T18) also gave good performances.

The 23-year-old Åberg looked to be on course for a sensation at the
Wentworth Club. The Swedish golfer only turned pro in June of this
year and thrilled fans with some fearless and brilliant golf. He was
unable to maintain his outstanding level of performance on Sunday but
nonetheless clearly showed why captain Luke Donald (ENG, -5, T36) used
a wild card to give him a spot on the European Ryder Cup team.

The weekend went in the opposite direction for World number two Rory
McIlroy, who needed a birdie at the 18th on Friday to make it to the
weekend. Over those two days, the Northern Irishman from showed the
class that had secured him the 2014 BMW PGA Championship title, as his
round of 65 on Sunday proved to be the best score of the day. McIlroy
will be in good spirits ahead of the trip to Rome.

The CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) organisation, which
focuses primarily on suicide prevention, also enjoyed a winning
feeling at the tournament. BMW donates £10 to the lifesaving work of
CALM for each birdie scored during the tournament, and £100 for each
eagle. A total of 1,675 birdies and 77 eagles were recorded at the BMW
PGA Championship, resulting in total donations of £24,450. These will
be supplemented by donations from tournament spectators.

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