+++ Eagles for Education enters its second year at the BMW PGA Championship – BMW Group donates £1,000 per eagle to the Golf Foundation +++ Unleash Your Drive strengthens mental resilience in pupils through golf +++ Fans can also support the Official Charity of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club +++
London. From today until Sunday, a world-class field will compete at the flagship event of the DP World Tour for one of Europe’s most prestigious titles. On the road to victory at the BMW PGA Championship, every eagle is particularly valuable – defending champion Billy Horschel (USA), for example, defeated Rory McIlroy in a playoff at the 18th hole in 2024 with an eagle. But beyond the sporting outcome, eagles have a significant impact. As in the previous year, the BMW Group is supporting the Golf Foundation through its Eagles for Education initiative by donating £1,000 per eagle scored, thereby contributing to the Unleash Your Drive programme.
Unleash Your Drive brings simplified versions of golf to schools across England, aiming to strengthen mental toughness. Pupils are taught to remain resilient, focused, and determined in the face of challenges, setbacks, and pressure, while maintaining a positive and determined mindset. These skills, which can be ideally practiced through golf, will help to prepare youngsters for life inside and outside the classroom.
The goals of the programme align perfectly with those of the Eagles for Education initiative, through which the BMW Group fulfils its social responsibility at international BMW golf tournaments. Together with local organisations, it advocates for education and equal opportunities for young people facing challenging starting conditions.
The collaboration with the Golf Foundation started last year. At the 2024 BMW PGA Championship, pros scored a total of 89 eagles. Winkfield St Mary’s School in Bracknell was one of the many schools who benefitted from the BMW Group’s donation of £89,000. As another week of Eagles for Education began on Monday, Nick Dougherty, former professional golfer, winner of the 2009 BMW International Open, and President of the Golf Foundation, joined a session with the youngsters and caught up with the teachers who have seen the impact on the ground. He also invited the children to the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club.
As the Golf Foundation is also the Official Tournament Charity this year, visitors can contribute to the good cause as well. Alongside Eagles for Education, this year will see the Golf Foundation run the Mega Putt as well as chipping and simulator challenges across the Championship Village in order to raise vital funds. Every £10 raised gets another pupil on the Unleash Your Drive programme, which sees six weeks of golf delivered that focuses on vital mental toughness tools.
Through its Eagles for Education initiative, the BMW Group is also involved in the BMW International Open (Germany) in support of the Philipp Lahm Foundation for Sport and Education. As part of the global amateur tournament series BMW Golf Cup, the Eagles for Education initiative supports JOBLINGE in Germany and UNICEF at the World Final. All proceeds from the BMW Championship (USA) benefit the Evans Scholars Foundation, which awards full tuition and housing college scholarships for deserving caddies.