Order of Merit addition for 2018

THE PGA in England (East) has increased its number of Order of Merit events by one to five for the 2018 season.

This year the East will stage ranking tournaments at West Essex, Bentley, Ingrebourne, Bishop’s Stortford and Millbrook.

The Order of Merit series gets underway with the third London Open at West Essex on June 14-15.

A week later and the East Anglian Open is scheduled for June 20-21 at Bentley, venue for a hugely successful inaugural two dayer last year.

Ingrebourne has been a fixture on the schedule for several seasons, hosting the region’s Par-3 Championship. In 2018 it will double up by staging its first Order of Merit event on August 7.

Bishop’s Stortford, always an excellent challenge, will stage the East Region Championship on September 5-6.

The final Order of Merit event will be held at Millbrook. The Bedfordshire course was the scene for a very successful pro-am a couple of years ago and is sure to be well received by the region’s best PGA professionals on September 26-27.

Once again there are three tournaments in our popular Classic series. The professional-amateur pairs format always attracts big fields for the Searles Spring Classic at Kings Lynn and Hunstanton (April 11-12), the Summer Classic at Royal Cromer and Sheringham (July 3-4) and the Marston’s Beer Company Autumn Classic at Felixstowe and Woodbridge (October 4-5).

Marston’s Beer will once again sponsor the Trainees Championship, which will take place over 36 holes on August 13.

A new innovation for 2018 is the PGA Pro & Secretary Challenge on April 16 at Harstsbourne. This has been designed as a great networking opportunity and also the chance to enjoy a social golf day. Please contact the regional office to find out more.

As always there is a great programme of pro-ams which starts in Portugal with a three-dayer from April 27 and extends all the way through until the end of September.

Gordon Campbell, PGA regional secretary for the East, said: “We are very pleased with the schedule we have put together for 2018.

“It’s great news that we’ve been able to add to our Order of Merit series. I am sure that Ingrebourne and Millbrook will be excellent hosts alongside our returning partners West Essex, Bentley and Bishop’s Stortford.

“I expect the three Classics to be fully subscribed once more. They seem to grow in popularity by the year, which is testament to the superb venues and support from our long-term sponsors Searles and Marston’s Beer Company.

“It’s also good to see plenty of new pro-ams in the region for 2018, while the PGA Pro & Secretary Challenge at Hartsbrourne has the potential to be a very worthwhile addition to the schedule.

“All in all I am sure we’re well set for many enjoyable days and lots of great golf in the months ahead.”