Jackson triumphs in Titleist & FootJoy PGA Winter Series

Grant Jackson won the fourth Titleist & FootJoy PGA Winter Series in China after claiming victory in the final event at Xili Golf & Country Club.

The series has been running since 2014 and involves Overseas PGA Professionals as well as China PGA Tour Series and China Tour Series players.

It consists of ten tournaments played from October through to April at a selection of top class facilities, including Mission Hills, Harbour Plaza and OCT Wind Valley. For the first time in 2018 the series also visited Hong Kong with the introduction of an event at the Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club.

The series began at Xili Golf & Country Club on October 16 and ended at the same venue on April 30 where Jackson won the 36-hole final with a score of 136 (Eight-under par).

A points total of 216 saw Jackson finish top of the Order of Merit, with Brian O’Donovan finishing as runner-up on 142 and Andrew Smith coming third with 129.

Jackson was presented with the Winter Series trophy and a brand-new Scotty Cameron putter, provided by main sponsors Titleist & FootJoy. Other sponsors included McCawleys Bar & Restaurants and Stephen & Sons Fine Shirt Makers.

The events are organised by Rob Eastwood (Xili Golf & Country Club), Andrew Smith (The Golf Academy, Genzon) and Brian O’Donovan (Mission Hills) highlighting how PGA members have come together for the betterment of fellow PGA professionals in the region.

Commenting on the importance of these events, joint organiser and player Robert Eastwood (pictured below) said “For the PGA Professionals here in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, the Winter Series has created good player relationships from many different nationalities.

“Golf has been the common link between what sometimes is a difficult communication barrier between the Chinese and English languages, not to mention the different cultures.

“The Winter Series has been sponsored by Titleist & FootJoy for the past three years and they have given us a huge amount of support. A great synergy has been created and we are proud to be working with them as an existing PGA Partner.

“This year’s series saw a healthy increase in prize money which meant we were able to run tournaments without a loss.

“This shows the level of importance of running events like these as golf continues to bring people together. We are now looking forward to the 2019 series and wish to sincerely thank all involved.”

The 2018/19 Winter Series will begin in October. For more information email robeastwood@xiligolf.com.