Fuente: © PGA (Professional Golfers' Association)
http://www.pga.info/

GOLF: PGA: Assistants Given Chance To Be Crowned Champion

/noticias.info/ A place in next year's English Open is on offer for a talented assistant professional after the PGA and Crown Golf joined forces to launch an exciting new tournament.

The Crown Golf English PGA Assistants' Championship will tee off next month with a prize fund of £16,000 and is open exclusively to English or England-based assistants currently on the PGA training programme.

Five regional qualifiers, with prize funds of £2,000 each will determine the finalists in this year's event, which will be played on September 29 over the Dave Thomas-designed championship course at Hertfordshire's Batchworth Park Golf Club.

At stake is a share of the £6,000 prize pool and an invite to the 2009 English Open where the winner will compete alongside the cream of the European Tour at St Mellion International Golf Resort.

Crown Golf, Europe's largest golf course owner/operator, is backing the new event as it is eager to recognise the hard work of assistant professionals nationwide.

"As an organisation with 33 golf clubs, eight Crown Golf Academies and more than 55 courses across the group, our team of assistant pros is very important to us," said Crown Golf Chief Operating Officer, John Weir.

"We genuinely wanted to do something that recognised the hard work put in by all assistant pros, not just our own team, and give them something worthwhile and rewarding to play in.

"Crown Golf is committed to growing grass roots golf and developing the PGA professionals of the future is essential to that aim.

"Through the Crown Golf English PGA Assistants' Championship, we believe we have created something that will inspire, encourage and reward these young professionals to keep working towards their full PGA qualification so that they play an important role in helping us to shape the future of golf."

Stephen Cox, PGA Director of Golf, said: ""This is a great initiative to recognise assistant professionals who, for many, are unsung heroes in the world of golf.

"The PGA has a fantastic tournament schedule for its professionals and this is a very welcome addition. We'd like to congratulate Crown Golf for their continued efforts to support and develop grass roots golf."

The five regional qualifiers in the Crown Golf English PGA Assistants' Championship will be held at:

Abbotsley GC, St Neots, Cambridgeshire - Monday, 18 August
The Hertfordshire GC, Broxbourne, Herts - Wednesday, 20 August
The Bristol GC, Almondsbury, Bristol - Tuesday, 26 August
Cotgrave Place GC, Nottinghamshire - Thursday, 28 August
Pyrford GC, Woking, Surrey - Thursday, 28 August

The Grand Final will be staged on the Dave Thomas-designed championship course at Batchworth Park Golf Club, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, on Monday, 29 September. notas_de_prensa_archivo