Three amateur golfers have earned a spot in the BMW PGA Championship Pro-Am after winning the Golf Foundation’s Unleash Your Drive Final held at The Grove.
The prize has been generously provided by BMW and the DP World Tour and is the culmination of a fundraising campaign by the Golf Foundation, which saw 147 clubs registering to run a qualifying competition with 3,552 golfers taking part.
Golf Foundation President Nick Dougherty was on site at The Grove to meet all of the 60 players and to present the winners with their prizes, generously donated by TaylorMade, along with the news that they will be teeing the ball up alongside many of Europe’s Ryder Cup Team at Wentworth in September.
The three players to compete in the BMW PGA Championship Pro-Am will be Thomas Peachey, 13, from Peterborough Milton Golf Club, won the qualifier with 43 points; Paul McHugh, from Royal Blackheath who finished second with 41 points; and Colin McGee, from Pine Ridge Golf Club who also shot 41 points.
The Golf Foundation is also the nominated charity for the BMW PGA Championship for the first time this year.
The Grove hosted this year’s Unleash Your Drive Final
Completing his third year as President of the Golf Foundation, Dougherty commented: “It’s such a privilege to work with the Golf Foundation, a charity that helped me in my formative junior days, and is now aiming to provide all young people in schools with the development tools and opportunities that this sport taught me through its Unleash Your Drive programme. Why wouldn’t we want to give our young people the valuable life skills that golf is uniquely placed to provide?”
For Colin McGee, winning was particularly special. “Winning a place to play in a pro-am at Wentworth is the best thing that has happened in my 51 years of golf,” he commented. “I am now 71 years old, so I doubt I would ever have this opportunity again.”
Joel Westwell, Director of Golf at The Grove, said, “We were delighted to welcome The Golf Foundation, Nick Dougherty, and the winners of the Unleash Your Drive qualifying competitions to The Grove. It’s been a fantastic day both on and off the course, and we’re proud to have hosted such a memorable event and to support this important campaign.”
