The HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour has announced its tournament schedule for 2019, with five new venues included in an action-packed season.
The 2019 season for the developmental tour tees off on May 22 as the PGA EuroPro Tour heads to the Melbourne Club at Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire (pictured above), as some of the sport’s best up-and-coming talent competing for more than £850,000 in prize money and the chance to win for promotion onto the Challenge Tour in 2020.
The Tour then heads back to Harleyford Golf Club in Marlow (29-31 May) where, last year, one of the Tour’s graduates, Billy Spooner, tasted victory for the first time in his career, the first of two title wins for the highly rated youngster.
Moving into June (5-7), the Tour goes to Donnington Grove in Newbury, as the EuroPro stars test their mettle on the Championship Course; the 7108-yard par 72 is regarded as the best in the region.
Making a return on the schedule is Cumberwell Park (19-21 June), a favourite on the Tour, and one which saw Longridge’s Mark Young secure his second consecutive win in 2018, the second of his three title wins last season.
From 26-28 June the Tour returns to Dudsbury Golf Club Hotel & Spa for the first time in over a decade; set in the beautiful Dorset countryside across 160 acres the Championship Course has been home to many prestigious events including the BMW PGA Order of Merit Championship.
The following week (3-5 July) sees the Tour visit the first of three consecutive Macdonald Golf Resorts, the first being Macdonald Linden Hall. Set in the picturesque countryside of Northumbria and designed by course architect Jonathan Gaunt, the 6,846-yard Championship course features four challenging par threes, with water coming into play for nine holes in total.
Then the Tour moves to Macdonald Portal Hotel, Golf & Spa (10-12 July), and a week later it heads north to the former Challenge Tour venue of the Macdonald Aviemore Resort (17-19 July), home of the award-winning Spey Valley Championship Course.
Following Spey Valley is the return of Caversham Heath Golf Club (24-26 July), where one of the Tour’s 2018 graduates Jordan Wrisdale clinched his maiden Tour victory, famously home to one of the toughest finishes on Tour.
The Tour then returns to another regular venue in the form of Mannings Heath Golf Club & Wine Estate in West Sussex (8-10 August), where 2018 Order of Merit winner Dave Coupland narrowly missed out on a third title win of the season in a thrilling one-hole playoff against eventual champion Billy Hemstock.
Penny Streeter, owner of Mannings Heath, said: “Events like the EuroPro Tour are essential if the game is to thrive and young golfers helped to achieve their potential. We are honoured to have been approached again to host one of the events which we feel confirms the quality of the classic Waterfall Course.”
From August 13-15 the Tour heads back to the home of Final Stage Q School, Frilford Heath Golf Club (Blue Course), which opened proceedings last season and saw Scotland’s Paul O’Hara take the first trophy of the year home and the £10,000 winner’s cheque.
The Tour then goes to a fourth and final stop of the Macdonald venues, finishing up at Macdonald Hill Valley in Shropshire. Completing the August line up is the stunning Tulfarris Hotel & Golf Resort (28-30 August), which is home to the PGA EuroPro Tour’s Irish Masters until 2020.
Moving into September (4-6), the Tour returns to Studley Wood Golf Club in Dorset where, last year, Scott Fallon wrote his name in the Tour’s history books with the lowest ever aggregate score recorded in competition at 22 under par.
Completing the 15-venue schedule is Newmachar Golf Club in Aberdeen, which had the same honour last year. Billy Spooner won a tense three-hole playoff against Thomas Robson to clinch his second title of the season, ultimately securing Challenge Tour status for the 2019 season.
The season concludes with the Tour’s top 60 players contending the Tour Championship. Players qualify to play on the PGA EuroPro Tour either through a two-stage Qualifying School in the spring, or thanks to their 2018 achievements.
Daniel Godding, Chief Executive of the PGA EuroPro Tour, said: “I am delighted with the schedule we have built for the 2019 season. We are welcomed back to some superb venues, which have previously hosted in addition to some fantastic new courses. Last year was again a superb year for some EuroPro alumni on the Challenge and European Tours. And with the pool of talent currently developing on our Tour, combined with the quality of courses set for 2019, the upcoming season will test the best young golfers in Europe and develop them into stars of the future.
“With £50,000 prize fund up for grabs at every tournament, not to mention TV exposure on Sky Sports and over 100 Countries around the world, the PGA EuroPro Tour truly is the best place to hone your game.”