Article Summary
- The BMW Hole-in-One Award has been won eight times in 37 years.
- While competing at the Munich Eichenried Golf Club, golfers took home the 1991 325i Convertible, 2001 Z8, 2019 M8, and the 2020 535i.
- This year's prize is the new BMW X5 in M Performance guise: the X5 M60e with a plug-in hybrid inline-six gasoline engine.
The BMW International Open is in full swing, pun intended. It’s taking place at the Munich Eichenried Golf Club, where there’s more than just the trophy at stake. A brand-new BMW is also up for grabs. Not just any vehicle bearing the famous roundel, but the fifth-generation X5 in M Performance guise: the M60e.
The electrified SUV is this year’s Hole-in-One prize, and a golfer can win it by becoming the first player to score an ace on the par-3 17th hole. As if the vehicle wasn’t already exciting enough, BMW went all out with the options. The X5 M60e is finished in Frozen Space Silver, a matte paint from the Individual catalog of special colors. Customers can’t order the new X5 with this finish since it won’t be available until late 2026.
It also rides on the new 23-inch wheels debuting with the G65. The two-tone set carries the “1121 M” codename and is restricted to vehicles equipped with the M Sport Package. Whoever wins the SUV will be among the first to take home the new X5, considering series production in Spartanburg doesn’t begin until next month.
BMW Hole-in-One Awards Over The Years
Looking back, the Hole-in-One prize has been won only eight times in the 37-year history of the BMW International Open. At the Munich Eichenried Golf Club, Jay Townsend took home a 325i Convertible in 1991. In 2001, Raphaël Jacquelin won the superb Z8. Later, in 2019, Gaganjeet Bhullar claimed an M8 Competition Coupe. A year later, Jean-François Lucquin drove away in a 535i.
At tournaments held in Cologne, Andrew Marshall won a 640i Gran Coupe in 2012 before James Heath drove home in an i8 Coupe two years later. Another two years after that, Richie Ramsay secured an M760Li xDrive, and in 2018, Aaron Rai was the lucky golfer to win an i8 Roadster.
The X5 M60e is on display at the 17th tee and in the Tournament Village as the first M Performance version of the G65 family. BMW has already announced plans to expand the lineup with a V8-powered version in 2027, likely called the X5 M60. A third not-quite-M X5 is also in the works, based on the fully electric iX5.
If you’re not competing at this year’s BMW International Open, the earliest you can get your hands on the new X5 is in late November, when deliveries begin. However, early adopters are initially limited to the conventionally powered 40 xDrive and 40d xDrive models. The plug-in hybrids (50e xDrive and M60e xDrive) and the electric iX5 60 xDrive won’t reach customers until early 2027.
