Golfer Thomas Bjorn wins final Hero Challenge in Dubai

Dubai, Nov 17 (IANS) Thomas Bjorn won the final Hero Challenge of 2021, defeating former Masters Champion Danny Willett and European Tour winners Min Woo Lee and Marcus Armitage at the Topgolf Dubai.

The year-end DP World Tour Championship, carrying a purse of US 9 million dollar, which decides the European Tour No.1 begins on Thursday. The field includes World No.2 American Collin Morikawa, who is bidding to become the first American to take the spot of being European Tour No.1. Another American in the fray is Billy Horschel.

They will be challenged by defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Patrick Reed, Lee Min Woo, Bernd Wiesberger, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Paul Casey, Sam Horsfield and Andy Sullivan from a field of 53 players.

Ahead of the main event, the third and final Hero Challenge of 2021 was held at the iconic location, located next to Emirates Golf Club. The 2018 Ryder Cup Captain Bjørn scored the most points in the fun and fast shoot-out contest.

The quartet went head-to-head ahead of this week's final Rolex Series event, the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

They competed in the TOPSHOT Advanced game, with each player getting 20 shots, split into four rounds of five balls, with points awarded for hitting targets at increasing distances.

Bjorn was crowned the winner with two balls to spare in the event hosted by Vernon Kay and Iona Stephen streamed live on the European Tour's YouTube channel.

"It was great fun," said Bjorn. "The Topgolf facilities are amazing and they are so good for the game of golf. They are popping up everywhere in the world and it's an incredible place to hang out with your friends and family to have a laugh and enjoy time together. Hero and Mr Munjal are also superb for golf. What they do for our game is unbelievable, so to combine here in Dubai with the European Tour, you can see it is great fun and this will get a lot of people into golf and enjoying it in a different way.

"My mind was probably on the Hero Challenge and their minds obviously something a bit bigger with the DP World Tour Championship on Thursday, but this was a bit of fun and it goes to show that everyone can have a nice time. It involves a little bit of luck, a little bit of skill, and that is what it's all about. I look at this and think bringing kids here to watch and play will get them into golf and that is what it is all about in the end," he added.

The Hero Challenge at the Topgolf Dubai rounded off a new look for the fun challenges in 2021. The first Hero Challenge of 2021 saw Ryder Cup stars Tyrrell Hatton and Ian Poulter given 50 balls each to attempt a hole-in-one at the Renaissance Club in Scotland.