Winner of the Avis “Longest Drive” competition at the 2006 KLM Open Announced

Avis Europe joined forces with its airline partner KLM to sponsor the Dutch leg of the 2006 PGA European Tour. As part of the tournament, Avis organised the first ever “Longest Drive” competition at the 12th hole of the Kennemer Golf and Country Club near Zandvoort. The winner of the Avis prize of a BMW 116i car was Daniel Vancsik from Argentina.

Striking with a winning determination on Sunday 13 August, the last day of the tournament, Daniel Vancsik drove his ball an impressive 348 yards. The winner was presented with his prize by Erik Groen, Avis Netherland’s Managing Director.

The assembled crowd were treated to some world-class golf during the four-day competition. The trophy and £180,000 prize money was taken by British player, Simon Dyson with a score of 14 under par 270, who claimed his second title of the season when he beat Australian Richard Green at the first extra hole of a sudden death play off.

The profile of the KLM Open attracted both big name starts including Ian Woosnam and Colin Montgomerie.

The event was the perfect opportunity for Avis to support its long standing relationship with KLM. Simon Palethorpe, Avis Europe’s Group Commercial Director explains, “Avis is committed to delivering first class car rental for all our customers. Through our Inspired Change programme and partnerships with major airlines such as KLM we hope to challenge traditional perceptions of car rental.”

Avis and KLM are global partners and are committed to making travel easier for business and leisure customers. Avis recently launched its pan-European programme of ‘Inspired Change’ which aims to further improve the customers’ experience of car rental. Initiatives driven by customer research include transforming the clarity and speed of its rental offering such as the car return process and all documentation.