Five star line-up for PGA South West in 2015

The PGA in England & Wales (South West) has unveiled an exciting tournament line-up for 2015 at some of the region’s finest venues.

Highlights include visits to the Celtic Manor Twenty Ten Ryder Cup course, the championship links of Burnham & Berrow, PGA South West regional headquarters Woodbury Park (above) and a new event at former Europro host Bovey Castle in Devon.

Three stops are made to the impressive Cumberwell Park complex in Wiltshire while the quartet of leading Dorset courses, Dudsbury, Remedy Oak, Ferndown and Parkstone, also feature.

The April Cornish Festival, which is already selling fast, is played over stand-out links courses Trevose, St Enodoc and Newquay. The exciting schedule includes new events at Bristol and Clifton, Dainton Park and Broome Manor while Lansdown and Newquay return to the circuit.

Glenn Ross, the PGA of England and Wales (South West) secretary, said:  “This year the emphasis is on great venues and high quality events. We are concentrating on these so we can help the development of our county PGAs by facilitating their ability to run their own smaller local pro-ams this year.”

In addition to a pro-am in September, Burnham & Berrow will celebrate its 125th anniversary by hosting the PGA Professional Championship alongside Regional qualifiers for both the championship and the Lombard Trophy.

The Celtic Manor Resort 2010 Ryder Cup Celebration Pro-Am is played on May 20 while the annual PGA dinner returns to the calendar after a long absence on November 2, also at the prestigious resort.

The gala event features the annual prize presentations following a limited field shotgun start pro-am on the Twenty Ten course (below) earlier in the day.

Four Order of Merit tournaments have been finalised and make up the ranking tournaments for the season, with Wessex Golf Centre’s Michael Watson defending his title.

The programme starts with the seventh Total Triumph Classic at Oake Manor in Somerset on May 13-14 and once again amateurs will have a chance to play alongside the finest PGA Professionals on the second day in their own strokeplay competition.

The Dudsbury Masters, supported by Ringwood Brewery, follows on June 8-10. The PGA West Region Players Championship returns to Cumberwell Park for a fourth year on July 13-15.

Marston's, the UK's market leading brewer of premium cask and bottled ales, will be the title sponsor of the PGA West Region Championship for the fifth successive year. The South West’s most prestigious and longest-running Order of Merit tournament returns to Chipping Sodbury Golf Club from August 17-19.

Gordon Brand Jnr, one of 14 Ryder Cup players to have claimed the title, won his second championship when it was last held at the South Gloucestershire course in 2006.

Last year’s unique event embraced four championships.  David Dixon (Enmore Park) took the major award while Tracy Loveys (Bigbury), Kelvin Aitken (Chippenham Golf Centre) and Toby Hunt (St Mellons) will defend the women’s, seniors’ and assistants’ titles respectively. A pre-tournament pro-am is run on the first day of each 36-hole tournament.

Ross added: “Marston's has been a great supporter of golf and they already have business links with a number of golf clubs in our area who are benefitting from the relationships.

“The company feels their continuing association with the PGA and the good deals they can offer clubs will continue to be mutually beneficial.”

Young professionals under the age of 30 and club assistants will again feature the Pro’s Sprint League in association with Titleist and FootJoy, an early-season four-stage 18-hole strokeplay event at Weston-super-Mare, Cumberwell Park, Dawlish Warren and St Mellons.

The opportunity for young developing players to compete before the busy season gets underway will be rewarded by an approximate Order of Merit bonus pool of £3,500 and a mini equipment contract with Titleist & FootJoy for the leading five players.

Other notable fixtures include the South Wales Festival being played over two days at Pyle and Kenfig and Southerndown on September 2-3. The popular 36-hole Fourball Championship starts with a pro-am and is staged for the fourth year at Teign Valley on June 16-18.

In addition to Burnham and Berrow, North Wilts and Newquay will also celebrate their 125th anniversary with a pro-am tournament.

Ross added: “Our five leading players were an incredible total of 226 under par for the season making a total of 1,091 birdies and 80 eagles throughout 2014.

“The quality of play from the PGA Members in our Region is amazing. If you have never played in a pro-am before why not make a date to come and join us in 2015?”

Full details of the schedule along with entry forms and how to get involved can be found at here.