R&A Enlists Rose And Mcdowell For E-open Presented By Mastercard
The R&A has enlisted Justin Rose and Graeme McDowell to launch the e-Open presented by Mastercard.
The pair, both ambassadors for the financial services company, will face off in a live exhibition match on Wednesday 12th August as part of the tournament, which will then run until the Grand Final on 8th September.
Played out on the World Golf Tour by Topgolf platform, the tournament winner will win a trip for two to the 149th Open in 2021 at Royal St George’s, with exclusive event experiences courtesy of Mastercard.
The showcase encounter between the two major champions will kick off the tournament, which saw qualifying rounds begin on 13th July. The exhibition will be played over the back nine holes of a virtual Royal St George’s, which would have hosted the 2020 edition of the major championship.
The event will feature BBC Sport commentator Andrew Cotter describing the action, which will be made available on a livestream broadcast on The Open’s official YouTube channel.
“It is of course disappointing not to be playing Royal St George’s in person this summer, but I am really looking forward to taking on this challenging links during The e-Open Exhibition Match,” said Justin Rose, who would have been making his 19th appearance at the Open this year.
“The e-Open is a fantastic initiative introduced by The R&A in partnership with Mastercard and I hope many fans around the world enjoy experiencing the unrelenting test of links golf from the comfort of their own homes.”
Graeme McDowell added: “The e-Open is a fantastic idea for golf fans around the world at a time when gaming is so popular and there has been no Open in 2020. Playing against Justin in The e-Open Exhibition Match is going to be great fun, it’s very realistic, and I hope that contestants get as much fun out of playing a virtual Royal St Georges as I do from playing in The Open itself.”
The wider tournament has already received more than 95,000 entries in the first three weeks of qualifying stages, which began on 13th July, and will finish on 23rd August, before the knockout rounds begin.
