Dutchman Joost Luiten made four birdies in five holes on the back nine of the Old Course at St Andrews to win the inaugural BMW Indoor Invitational. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

JOOST Luiten posted a six-under par 66 on the Old Course for a two-shot victory in the inaugural edition of the BMW Indoor Invitational at St Andrews, on Saturday.

The Dutchman finished top of a leaderboard featuring 18 European Tour players in the first of five events in the new series of virtual golf tournaments – using the latest simulator technology.

As a result, he claimed the first prize of €10,000 towards a charity of his choice.

The six-time European Tour winner opted to split the proceeds between his own charity, the Joost Luiten Foundation, and Eramus Medical Centre, a hospital in his native Rotterdam, which has been on the front line in the battle against coronavirus.

Luiten and the rest of the field, which included former World No. 1s Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood, competed virtually over the Old Course at St Andrews from their own homes in the one round, 18 hole strokeplay event – powered by TrackMan.

“It’s a good feeling to win the inaugural event,” said Luiten. “St Andrews is such an iconic course to play.

“Everyone knows it from the TV, so it is a great place to start this.”

“We’ve been doing nothing for such a long time, so it is nice to get that feeling of competition going again.

“You try to stay fit and practise the way you can indoors, but it is different.

“So it is good to have the some nerves and that feeling of actually competing and trying to beat everybody else.

“That’s the most fun for us and that is why we are golf professionals. We have been missing that feeling for a long time, and it was good to get it back and to do well as well.

Luiten birdied the fifth, eighth and ninth holes in a front nine of 33, and then picked up four shots between the 12th and 16th, with just the tricky long uphill 13th not yiedling a birdie.

The Dutchman then carded his only bogey of the day on the 18^th after failing to get up and down from the famous Valley of Sin.

The 34-year-old finished two shots clear of Frenchman Damien Perrier, who fired seven birdies in his opening 14 holes – but then carded three consecutive bogeys from the 15^th in a round of 68.

Dean Burmester Hole In One at the BMW Indoor Invitational powered by TrackMan_10 MB MOV_m45885

$10k prize goes to two good causes

LUITEN was also pleased to be able to claim the first prize of $10,000 for his two charities.

Each of the five tournament winners in the BMW Indoor Invitational – powered by TrackMan – receiving $10,000 towards good causes of their choice.

“Charity is really important, especially in these times,” Luiten said.

“There is so much going on in the world that just needs money. So it is always good to give back.

“I started my own foundation at the beginning of this year to get kids into golf, so I’m going to give 50 per cent to help get that up and running and to help kids enjoy golf.

“The other 50 per cent will be donated to Eramus MC, a hospital here in Rotterdam and one of the biggest hospitals in Holland.

“They are trying to do a lot of research into stopping coronavirus so hopefully they can do a lot of good things with the money.

“It’s also important to raise awareness too. If everyone gives a little or helps out as much as they can hopefully the situation gets better and we can beat this virus.

“That is the most important thing at the moment, to beat this virus and keep the older people safe too and try to get back to normal life,” said Luiten, whose last real victory came in the 2018 Oman Open.

“It’s always special to win but I’m really proud we can give this money to good causes and every little helps.”

Luiten’s fellow Dutchman Wil Besseling shared third position with Poland’s Adrian Meronk on three-under.

France’s Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Spain’s Adri Arnaus and Somerset’s Laurie Canter tied for fifth after posting 70s.

Wiesberger outscores Major man Kaymer

MEANWHILE Kaymer – the two-time Major Champion – joined Austrian Wiesberger in the interactive feature group.

Wiesberger edged the contest with a level-par 72, while Kaymer took two shots more.

The Austrian said: “It was good fun. It was nice to interact with Martin although I can assure you it wouldn’t normally be like that in a tournament.

“Martin is a great guy so and I enjoyed playing St Andrews, my favourite course, with him on the indoor TrackMan set-up.

“All of us, not just golfers but all athletes, are looking forward to getting back into competition again so it was fun to have set this up and for a good cause too, so thanks to the European Tour, BMW and TrackMan.

“It’s crazy where technology has taken us to that we can play golf tournaments indoors like this – and interact with each other – and still have a lot of fun – even if we have a couple more weeks until we get out there with a scorecard in our hand.”

Kaymer added: “To interact with another player again was nice. That’s what you miss most – the competition, to compete against someone who is as good as you.

“I was quite surprised at myself that I was excited to play, and I also had a bit of nervousness at some stage, which is a bit strange. But I look forward to doing the same again next week.

“For BMW, TrackMan and the European Tour to do a good thing was fun. The winner can donate to their charity every week for five weeks in a row.

“This is a beautiful idea. Especially at this time we’re in right now, giving is more important than ever.”

Watch coverage of BMW Indoor Invitational

TOURNAMENT footage was shown on the European Tour’s social media channels and https://bmw.trackmaninvitational.com

Fans were able to follow using #BMWTrackManInvitational.

Footage of the BMW Indoor Invitational is now available on the European Tour’s social media channels – Twitter: @europeantour; Instagram: @europeantour as well as YouTube: EuropeanTour.

This week’s course will be Royal Portrush (Saturday, May 16), followed by Golfclub München Eichenried (Saturday, May 23), Real Club Valderrama (Saturday, May 30) and Wentworth (Saturday, June 6).

The European Tour announced it was creating the innovative online virtual tournament earlier this week.

The post Luiten lights up back nine on Old Course to claim first leg of BMW Indoor Invitational appeared first on Golf North.

Second round leader Eddie Pepperell has been putting better after switching to the claw grip. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

OXFORDSHIRE’S EDDIE Pepperell was happy putting his faith in feeling his way around Emirates Golf Club.

The two-time Euorpean Tour winner carded a round of 67 to take a one-shot lead at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic after 36 holes.

Lighter winds made for better scoring in round two and the Frilford Heath member took advantage of the morning condiitions to move to eight-under.

Pepperell, who is looking for a second win in the Middle East after his maiden victory at the Commerical Bank Qatar Masters nearly two years ago, said: “I’ve played with swing feels for a few years.

“I have a couple of drills that have given me some quite strong ones and that’s where I’ve had a lot of success, to be honest.

“It might look very technical with me but believe it, or not, in my mind it doesn’t feel that way.

“At least certainly when I’m doing pretty good, because it’s all about feeling.

“I felt more calm today, I would say. Actually, I would tend to feel more calm as the week goes on at most tournaments,” added the 28-year-old, from Abingdon, who played junior golf at Drayton Park.

“I was happy with how I was feeling early and I got off to a nice start.

“For the most part it was very, very good until the cameras came along. I must have been concerned with how I was looking, because then I started struggling.

“When I looked at my putting in the past I’ve always felt that when I look at my set-up I’ve never looked that comfortable.

“Regardless of what your hands are doing on the grip, great putters tend to look quite comfortable.

“So that’s one thing I’ve never liked about my setup. It’s been very good the past two days and I’ve been surprised with how good it’s been.

“If I can keep doing that over the weekend, with what I’ve been doing with the swing, I think I’m going to make plenty of birdies which would be great.”

Pepperell who has vastly experienced caddy Micky Doran on the bag, has missed his last two cuts and has gone back to some old drills.

He switched to a claw putting grip as he looks to kickstart his 2020 Race to Dubai campaign after wathching Lee Westwood find some form on the greens on the way to his 25th career win in Abu Dhabi, last week.

The 2018 British Masters champion is a shot clear of defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, South African Dean Burmester and Sweden’s Robert Karlsson heading into the weekend.

DeChambeau would love to repeat his win of 12 months ago and then go on to win the Masters as Danny Willett did in 2016 and Sergio Garcia in 2017 after claiming the Dubai title.

“My wedge game has been immaculate, my putting has been – for the most part – a success, and iron play has kept me in the proper place,” said DeChambeau.

“Hit a couple of nice drives today and getting better with my driving. Just got to iron out a couple more things when the pressure gets to me, or certain situations occur.

DeChambeau spent time after the FedEx Tour Championship in August bulking up in the gym, piling on the pounds, in a bid to give him extra yards off the tee.

And DeChambeau revealed: “Well it has opened new boundaries that I never thought were possible.

“I don’t know necessarily how to control all of it yet.

But I’m getting to the place where I’m starting to learn with driver I need, under the gun – in certain conditions, a left-to-right wind, a right-to-left wind, what to do, and how to apply that power in a way that’s going to keep me in the fairway, and allow me to have more scoring opportunities.

“It’s a gigantic leap for me,” said DeChambeau, who has also addressed the criticism of some – including World No. 1 Brooks Koepka about his “slow play.”

“I would say it is about getting just more comfortable on the golf course, recognising the fact that I’m not perfect.

“I make mistakes and I made mistakes in the past but working on improving everything.

“That’s my whole goal for the game of golf is not only to make myself a better player – but to have people have a more enjoyable experience when I’m around.

“And that’s really what I’m trying to do, so I don’t bother anybody on the golf course, that’s the last thing I want to do.

“I made it a point to work on it and I’ve gotten a little bit better and I think it shows.”

Meanwhile Burmester revealed he has adopted a new mental attitude after being involved in a car accident ahead of the tournament.

His family were also involved in the collision on Wednesday, with all members thankfully escaping with only minor injuries.

Burmester said: “The accident was pretty hectic. We went to the aquarium and on our way back we took an Uber on the way back to the hotel.

“There was traffic on the other side of a blind rise and so we went into the back of a Porsche.

“There were four cars involved, but luckily we just got away with a couple of bumps and bruises and just thank God that we’re all okay.

“I think for the most part I putted really well and I’ve just been consistent trying to hit fairways, because the rough’s quite deep.

“So, for me to hit fairways is pretty good. I think the major difference is probably my mental attitude towards it.

“After the car accident you realise what’s important in life and I think I was taking golf a little too seriously.

“So I just kind of relaxed and looked at the family. We’re just enjoying our time, so that’s been the biggest difference.”

A sore ankle did not look to bother him as he carded a round of 68 putting himself in contention heading into the weekend.

Karlsson seeks first win in a decade

ROBERT Karlsson was the first Swede to be crowned European No. 1 after claiming the Order of Merit in 2008, the year before the introduction of the Race to Dubai.

The tall Scandinavian, who turned 50 in September, is putting his energy into his search for a first win since 2010 – when he claimed the Dubai World Championship in 2010, beating Ian Poulter in a play-off.

A victory just over nine years later would put him in the category of over 50s winners on the European Tour alongside Miguel Angel Jimenez – only three players have achieved that feat in the PGA Tour’s history.

Karlsson, who played in the 2006 and 2008 Ryder Cups, said: “Yesterday, on a very tough day, I kept the ball in play and when I missed I was a little bit lucky.

“I hit it in the fairway bunkers instead of the rough and I holed a lot of important putts.

“Today I actually hit more fairways and it was obviously much nicer weather. I played nicely.

“The tricky thing is we had a couple of years where they set it up a little bit nicer around the greens, with less rough.

“I think players want to have a bit tougher conditions and I’m very, very happy the way that they set it up.

“That’s been my personal response from the players. The problem on this golf course is there’s a lot of doglegs where you cut across, so it’s really hard to hit fairways on holes like one and six and 18.

“But everybody knows it and you play for it, so, but I like it.”

Frenchman Romain Langasque and China’s Wu Ashun are two shots off the lead at six-under, a shot clear of South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout, German Sebastian Heisele, American Kurt Kitayama and another Frenchman in Victor Perez.

Tommy Fleetwood fired the lowest score of the day with an impressive round of 65, edging his way back up the leaderboard to head the chasing pack at four-under, thanks to a strong putting display.

First-round leader Thomas Pieters could not repeat his birdie fest of 24 hours earlier, taking 10 shots more after an opening 67.

•To follow live scoring in the third round click here.

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