PGA (South West) unveils exciting 2016 schedule

Dudsbury’s Lee Thompson will visit four venues in four different counties in a bid to defend his PGA in England and Wales (South West) Order of Merit title.

Thompson will have the benefit of starting his campaign once more on his home course as he attempts to retain the Dudsbury Masters sponsored again by Ringwood Brewery in June.

He will be aiming to keep the title in Dorset for the third time as Michael Watson (Weymouth) won the inaugural event. The Bournemouth course has become one of the most prestigious hotel, leisure and golf facilities in the country under the ownership of David and Beate Braban.

The eighth Total Triumph Classic at Oake Manor, near Taunton, is on May 24-25. Once again amateurs will have a chance to play alongside the finest PGA Professionals on the second day in their own strokeplay competition.

Neil Mossman, owner of Total Triumph, is a past captain of Oake Manor and, as this year’s captain of the Somerset county first team, expects many of the leading Somerset amateurs to enter.

The PGA West Region Players Championship returns to Cumberwell Park for a fifth year on July 18-19. The pro-am which precedes the main event at the course near Bath is the most popular of the season.

The PGA West Region Championship, the South West’s most prestigious and longest-running tournament, returns to the classic championship links at Saunton, below, on August 22-24 and embraces four championships.

Kevin Harper (East Devon) took the major award last year while Tracy Loveys (Bigbury), Kelvin Aitken (Chippenham Golf Centre) and Toby Hunt (St Mellons) will remarkably attempt to win the women’s, seniors’ and assistants’ titles for the third successive year.

A pre-tournament pro-am runs on the first day of the first three OOM tournaments. The pro-am at Saunton will be staged the day after the championship and the season’s annual dinner and awards ceremony will follow in the evening.

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

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

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

The Cornish Festival in April, which has already almost sold out, includes a first festival visit to Carlyon Bay Hotel and Golf Club, the spectacular hill-top course at St Austell. Stand-out championship links courses Trevose and St Enodoc again add lustre to the largest pro-am gathering in the country.

The 36-hole Fourball Championship which starts with a pro-am is provisionally scheduled for a fifth year at Teign Valley from August 8-10.

Kevin Hind, secretary of The PGA in England and Wales (South West), said:  “Although we still hope to add additional fixtures the new season is looking very good. The Assistants’ Sprint championship provides our many talented young players with the chance to shine."