The ECCO Tour Championship hosted by Thomas Björn & Mercedes-Benz will move to a new venue when Stensballegaard Golf Club hosts the seventh edition of the event from 16-19 August 2012..
Stensballegaard Golf Club, winner of Golf Inc magazine’s ‘Development of the Year’ award in 2010, was built on a private estate which is spread across 220 hectares of protected forest and 161 hectares of arable land in Horsens, east Denmark.
The complex, which opened in 2007, consists of 27 holes of championship golf and a six-hole par three course. The signature hole is the challenging ninth, which affords spectacular views of the city ofHorsensand the Horsens Fjord, and features a height difference of 52 metres between the tee and green.
Jesper Thuen, Global Marketing Manager – ECCO Golf Division, said: “We are happy to continue our partnership with the European Challenge Tour and GolfPromote to host the seventh edition of the ECCO Tour Championship at the magnificent Stensballegaard Golf Club in 2012.
“It has always been a high priority at ECCO to support the next generation of Tour professionals and give them opportunities to develop their skills in a competitive environment, and the Challenge Tour is the perfect platform to do that. We look forward to welcome all the players to the 2012 edition of The ECCO Tour Championship.”
Alain de Soultrait, Director of the European Challenge Tour, said: “Stensballegaard GC comes very highly recommended, so we’re excited about the prospect of holding the event there in August. It’s almost 20 years since we staged our first tournament inDenmark, so we are delighted to continue our association with the country. The fact that there are eight Danes competing at the Qualifying School Final Stage is a testament to the current strength of Danish golf.
“We should thank our tournament host Thomas Björn, who since winning the Challenge Tour Rankings in 1995 has become a great ambassador for the game of golf. And our thanks also go to the title sponsors ECCO, whose commitment to staging a Challenge Tour event inDenmarkhas helped young Danish golfers to flourish, and the presenting sponsors Mercedes-Benz.”
One such Danish success story is Andreas Hartø, who won the tournament as an amateur last year. Two months later, the 23 year old fromCopenhagenadded the Roma Golf Open to his collection of Challenge Tour titles, before earning his European Tour card at the Qualifying School Final Stage to complete a whirlwind start to his professional career.
Hartø was succeeded as champion this year byEngland’s Danny Denison, who captured his debut Challenge Tour title en route to finishing sixth in the final Rankings, thereby earning his place on The 2012 European Tour International Schedule.
This year the tournament will carry a minimum prize fund of €160,000, and will again be promoted by GolfPromote.
ECCO www.ecco.com
Stensballegaard Golf Club www.stensballegaardgolf.dk