The PGA TOUR Latinoamérica is set to tee-off in September 2012 and run for four months. Next year, officials hope to expand the tour by at least three events.”]The golf organization announced the creation of PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, a new professional tour in the southern hemisphere consisting of 11 events across seven Latin American nations. The league will provide Latin American golfers with a pipeline to the Nationwide Tour, one step below the PGA, where players can hone their skills while they try to earn their tour cards.
“This is an opportunity to help in the further development of elite players across the region,” PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem told reporters. “The timing is right, with South America hosting its first ever Olympic Games, which includes golf’s return to the competition for the first time in more than 100 years. The Latin American market has already produced several PGA TOUR stars, and one of our goals for this tour is to help develop the Latin American stars of the future.”
The PGA TOUR Latinoamérica is set to tee-off in September 2012 and run for four months. Next year, officials hope to expand the tour by at least three events. Finchem was sure to thank executives with the PGA TOUR, Tour de Las Américas, National Golf Federations and other Latin American clubs as the tour will take players through Mexico, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru.
The events will be 72-hole competitions and the tour’s top money winners will be invited to compete on the nationwide circuit. Each tournament will have a minimum US$100,000 purse with hopes to increase the pots as the tour expands.
[captionpix imgsrc=”https://thecostaricanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Business+Fort+plc+English+PGA+Championship+NWbIRS9nc4Xl.jpg” align=”right” captiontext=”The collaborative effort among the leaders of the various national federations in the region and the PGA TOUR was an important step in cementing PGA TOUR Latinoamérica as the future of professional golf in the region, Mark Lawrie, executive director of the Argentine Golf Federation, told reporters.”]“The collaborative effort among the leaders of the various national federations in the region and the PGA TOUR was an important step in cementing PGA TOUR Latinoamérica as the future of professional golf in the region,” Mark Lawrie, executive director of the Argentine Golf Federation, told reporters.
The move to expand to Latin America comes as little surprise as the game of golf continues to explode. The PGA, Champions and Nationwide tours play tournaments in 12 different countries and are broadcast in nearly 500 million households across 224 countries in 29 different languages.
This year on the PGA Tour, Jhonattan Vegas, a native of Maturín, Venezuela, sparked interest in the tour in South America when he claimed the Humana Challenge in La Quinta, Calif., in January. Vegas has five top-25 finishes this year and has already made more than US$1.85 million this season.
And with the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica ready to launch, more Latin American golfers will have the chance to follow in Vegas’ footsteps.
“Over the past decade, professional golf in Latin America has been served dutifully by many key partners in the region,” Finchem told reporters. “The national federations, promoters and private clubs of Mexico, South America and the Caribbean who have carried the torch for golf in the region will now work in collaboration under the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica banner to take the next step for player development in the region.”
By Dave Carey and Ezra Feiser – Infosurhoy.com
