The delighted winners of the worldwide qualifying tournaments - where approximately 14,000 golfers competed against each other in 16 (2020) and 17 (2022) markets respectively - booked their tickets earlier this year for the World Final in Mallorca.
In total, more than 120 golfers competed at both World Finals. They competed for the World Trophy in the team event and in five individual classes (gross women and men plus three mixed net classes) over two rounds using the Stableford system.
Team Australia
Competing for Team Australia in the 2020 World Final were:
- Michael Brash
- Anthony Merlo
- Conan Frankic
- Zehra Stewart
Zehra Stewart won the Longest Drive competition in the women’s category and Team Australia claimed sixth place overall.
For the 2022 World Final, another four top-flight amateur players in Team Australia challenged for victory:
- Gary Chong
- Reg Hanson
- Steve Xie
- Rebecca Tomayo
Their combined efforts put them within four points of tournament success, which was ultimately secured by Team Mexico. It was Team Australia's best ever team result at the Porsche Golf Cup World Final.
Rebecca Tomayo won the Nearest to Pin award in the women’s category and Robyn Hanson, competing in the Partner’s Tournament - held at the same time as the World Final - won the Longest Drive in the Women’s category.
“Being able to enjoy the event again is arguably the biggest win of the 2020 and 2022 Porsche Golf Cup World Finals,” says Sebastian Mertke, Director Global Community Management at Porsche AG. “We’ve seen just how incredibly inspiring and enriching it is when people share their passions and come together in beautiful places as a community. The week in Mallorca was shaped by people from a multitude of nations mixing with each other and the fantastic atmosphere generated by the great spirit within the Porsche family.”
Team Japan came out on top in the team competition at the 2020 Porsche Golf Cup World Final (20 – 23 June), whilst Karen Schmidt (Team Mexico; HCP 7.8) and Dr Luigi D’Amico (Team Italy; HCP -1.3) pipped their closest rivals in the gross classes due to a better second round after finishing with the same number of points in the extremely exciting competitions.
The team trophy at the 2022 Porsche Golf Cup World Final (23 – 26 June) was won by Team Mexico. Their narrow four-point victory over Team Australia crowned an impressive overall performance by the country during their week in Mallorca.
The title in the gross classes were secured by Meike Leichtle (Team Germany; HCP -0.6) and Helmut Konrad (Team Austria, HCP 1.7) who went round in one under par on the first day at Canyamel. Meike Leichtle not only won in the gross class, the young golfer from the Stuttgart GC Solitude was also victorious in the nearest-to-the-pin and longest drive competitions.
The dream of a hole-in-one prize did not materialise for any of the participants. In the Club de Golf Alcanada, a Taycan Turbo S in Frozen Blue adorned the 17th tee and a Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo in chalk on the 18th at Canyamel Golf. Both represented the chance to drive the Porsche Taycan for one year for free, a prize that went unclaimed. The hole-in-one-prize put up by the tournament partner TAG Heuer, a TAG Heuer Connected Watch Golf Edition, was also not won. Both victorious teams from Japan and Mexico can also look forward to a special prize. As winners of the World Trophy, they will be able to watch the 2023 Porsche European Open live at the venue plus play the Pro-am tournament as a part of a trip lasting several days.
“The days were just incredible,” said a delighted Luigi D’Amico, gross winner of the 2020 World Final. “Everything was perfect, from the organisation to the stunning hotel, the weather and naturally the golf courses that were in an excellent state. It was such an exciting event with strong competition, with a dreamlike end for me. It was also immensely enjoyable out on the course and naturally when mixing within the Community with all the wonderful people that, like me, love Porsche and golf.”
Everybody also savoured the special atmosphere during the programme of side events. The Community celebrated the return to the Balearic island first at the emotional opening ceremony, which included a welcome message by the Porsche Brand Ambassador Paul Casey, and the following dinner on the seashore and then at both the extremely diverse Nations’ Dinner and the spectacular Winners’ Night. The accompanying guests were given the opportunity to play their own golf tournament as well as go on a Porsche Road Tour in a variety of sports cars to discover the island. Several Porsche Taycan models were also available for all the guests to enjoy for a test drive. Also present as an exclusive guest was Hans-Peter Porsche. The grandson of the Porsche founder Ferdinand Porsche and the founder of the Alcanada golf course was a much sought-after source of advice. It all rounded off the perfect brand experience.
Winners 2020 Porsche Golf Cup World Final:
World Trophy:
1. Team Japan
2. Team Belgium
3. Team Canada
Individual:
– Gross women: Karen Schmidt, Team Mexico
– Gross men: Dr Luigi D’Amico, Team Italy
– Net A mixed (HCP -2.5 – 8.7): Michael DeGasperis, Team Canada
– Net B mixed (HCP 8.8 – 15.9): Prof Dr Janggeol Woo, Team South Korea
– Net C mixed (HCP 16.0 – 36.0): Toshiaki Koyama, Team Japan
Winners 2022 Porsche Golf Cup World Final:
World Trophy:
1. Team Mexico
2. Team Australia
3. Team Switzerland
Individual:
– Gross women: Meike Leichtle, Team Germany
– Gross men: Helmut Konrad, Team Austria
– Net A mixed (HCP -3.0 – 10.0): Yasufumi Kano, Team Japan
– Net B mixed (HCP 10.1 – 19.5): Ricardo Oviedo, Team Mexico
– Net C mixed (HCP 19.6 – 36.0): Thomas Burri, Team Switzerland
Porsche in golf
Porsche has been the title sponsor of the Porsche European Open, a DP World Tour event, since 2015 and the automobile manufacturer expanded its involvement in professional golf with automotive partnerships at tournaments on the Asian and the DP World Tour since 2019. Porsche has also been organising the Porsche Golf Cup for more than three decades. The tournament series is one of the company’s most successful customer events. Held for the first time in Germany in 1988, the Porsche Golf Cup has developed into an international event in which about 14,000 Porsche customers recently took part in the worldwide qualifying tournaments. Also highly successful is the Porsche Golf Circle, an international app-based community for keen golf-playing Porsche customers that was launched in 2017. The Porsche Golf Circle now has about 4,000 members. Paul Casey has been complementing the Porsche family as the first Brand Ambassador from the game of golf since 2020.
