Perfect golf experience for Mark Webber and Paul Ripke in the lead-up to the 2023 Porsche European Open – in glorious sunshine and in great spirits, the former Endurance World Champion in a Porsche and the photographer savoured the awesome atmosphere during the Pro-Am one day before the start of the time-honoured tournament (1 to 4 June).
“It was an incredibly funny day. The Porsche Nord Course really is a world-class course and I played with world class guys. Everything was high-class – Porsche like,” raved Webber and Ripke added: “Today is probably the best golf day I’ve ever had. At least in Germany. The conditions here are fabulous.”
The foursome with the famous amateurs also included the English playing pro Matthew Southgate who Ripke watched closely around the 18 long holes saying, “It was amazing seeing the communication between the pro and the caddie, the combined analysis of each situation. It’s fantastic being able to watch the top athletes at arm’s length.”
Prior to setting off around the course in the Pro-Am, Webber and Ripke took each other on in a unique Dreamers' Challenge in the Public Village and in the VIP Garden Lounge. On the 30-metre Porsche Public Hole-in-One in the Porsche World, Ripke narrowly beat Webber in the nearest to the pin competition. On the Carrera slot-car track, Webber took advantage of his motorsport experience before moving on to the cooking duel in the Big Green Egg Grill located in the VIP area. Watched on by three-star chef Thomas Bühner, who, together with international friends, is responsible for serving up culinary highlights during the tournament week, the action turned to cooking the best steak – and the overall win. Mark Webber was an impressive victor with a steak that was highly praised by the German Michelin chef.
“I enjoyed it a lot,” said Challenge winner Webber. “Putting, racing, cooking – there was something for everybody. My simple approach on the barbeque came out on top. The win had a sweet taste to it,” joked the former Formular 1 driver and summed up by saying, “It was simply a great all-round experience.” Something his rival backed up: “Today I finished second best because Mark can cook better, can lap better and played better golf today, if I’m honest. But it naturally doesn’t change anything. The day just blew me away.”
Porsche in golf
Porsche has been involved successfully in golf since 2015 as the title sponsor of the Porsche European Open, a DP World Tour event. In 2019, the automobile manufacturer expanded its activities in professional golf with automotive partnerships at tournaments on the US PGA Tour and the DP World Tour. Porsche can also look back on a more than three-decade Porsche Golf Cup history. 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, at its peak, over 17,000 Porsche customers took part in 261 worldwide qualifying tournaments. The Porsche Golf Circle is also highly successful. An international community for keen golf-playing Porsche customers, it was launched in 2017. Paul Casey has been complementing the Porsche family as the first Brand Ambassador from the game of golf since 2020.
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