The relationship between the European Tour and the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia has been officially ratified through a Strategic Alliance, which was announced today at the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth.
The Strategic Alliance formalises a partnership which will continue to create new opportunities in the Australasia region, for the membership of both Tours, and build additional pathways for southern hemisphere professionals to progress their careers on the European Tour.
The announcement follows the success of the Strategic Alliance between the European Tour and the Asian Tour, which was agreed in July of 2016 and has seen the working relationship between both Tours go from strength to strength – with four events co-sanctioned between the European Tour and Asian Tour in the 2017 season and two more tri-sanctioned alongside the PGA Tour of Australasia.
This new Alliance will see both the European Tour and the PGA Tour of Australasia explore ways of combining their marketing and commercial resources to maximise potential growth of the game in the region.
Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, said: “This Strategic Alliance is another exciting announcement for the European Tour as we formalise and build on an already strong working relationship with the PGA Tour of Australasia, for the mutual benefit of our respective memberships.
“This week’s ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth is a tri-sanctioned event with the PGA Tour of Australasia and the Asian Tour and provides a perfect example of how the European Tour and its partners around the world can work together.”
Peter O’Malley, Chairman of the PGA of Australia, said: “The ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia and European Tour have always shared a strong relationship and this Alliance is a natural progression as we look to grow and enhance golf in the Australasia region.
“This is an opportunity for our players; we have plenty of talented up and coming as well as established players who will benefit from the Alliance. I look forward to seeing more of them competing on the European Tour in the future.
“European Tour players have always enjoyed coming to compete in Australasia and this Alliance will also give them more opportunities to come and play in some of our biggest tournaments.”
The rise of Nathan Holman has provided a recent example of the pathway available to young southern hemisphere hopefuls through the partnership between the two Tours.
The 25 year old’s win at the Australian PGA Championship in December 2015 earned him full status on the European Tour for the first time, before the Melbourne player went on to play in, thanks to his winning the PGA Tour of Australasia’s Order of Merit, two World Golf Championships, make his debut at The Open Championship and finish 67th in the 2016 Race to Dubai.
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