New Professional Golf Tour launches
April 2011
Today, Optical Express announced a new professional golf tour for male and female golfers and invited elite Scottish Amateurs. The first of the six Scottish events begin at Stranraer on 5 May 2011, with the events continuing until the December international final at the prestigious Son Gual course in Mallorca.
The tour is the brain child of professional golfers Alan Tait and Nigel Scott-Smith who felt the lack of playing opportunities for golf professionals in Scotland, especially the younger, less experienced ones, was holding back the potential growth of some of Scotlandandrsquo;s most talented players. Itandrsquo;s fully supported by Optical Express and leading European golf professionals: Retief Goosen, Paul Lawrie and Andrew Coltart.andnbsp;
Optical Express Chairman and CEO, David Moulsdale said: andldquo;As soon as Alan and Nigel brought the idea to me I saw a new opportunity that will develop Scottish talent and wanted to get involved. I think it is important for there to be opportunities for enthusiastic male and female players in the Scottish calendar.andrdquo;
There is a guaranteed minimum prize fund of andpound;8,000 at each Scottish event and andpound;10,000 in Mallorca for the seasonandrsquo;s leading 24 players.
Past Ryder Cup player Andrew Coltart comments: andldquo;I was lucky enough to be able to take advantage of an offer to go to Americaandnbsp; to develop my game where there were a lot more competitive golf events to keep me driven. Golf can be difficult, especially if things are not going great and itandrsquo;s important to keep your focus. The addition of the Optical Express Pro Golf Tour to the Scottish golfing calendar will provide that added incentive to our golfers to stay driven and push them to get the most out of their game.andrdquo;
The dates and locations of the 2011 Scottish events are:
05-06 Mayandnbsp;andnbsp;Stranraer GC
25-26 Mayandnbsp;andnbsp;Hilton Park GC
20-21 Julyandnbsp;andnbsp;The Westerwood
08-09 Augustandnbsp;andnbsp;The Roxburghe
21-22 Septemberandnbsp;Letham Grange GC
03-04 Octoberandnbsp;andnbsp;Irvine (Bogside) GC
Optical Express Pro Golf Tour final will be at the Son Gual course in Mallorca in December. Expenses will be paid for the seasonandrsquo;s leading 24 players.
Former US Open Champion Retief Goosen said: andldquo;The Optical Express Pro Golf Tour is a chance for aspiring professionals to gain valuable competitive tour experience as part of their ongoing development. Competing with glasses and contact lenses really affected my game and a fellow golfer suggested I consider laser eye surgery. The difference to my game has been phenomenal. I fully believe that the commitment to be the best from both professional golfers and Optical Express will combine to make the Optical Express Pro Golf Tour a truly memorable addition to the Scottish golf calendar.andrdquo;
Paul Lawrie, who won The Open Championship in 1999, said: andldquo;The whole ethos behind the Optical Express Pro Golf Tour is the continuing development of talented golfing professionals in Scotland, pure and simple. Although vital to the growth of any professional golfer in Scotland, it can be a costly business travelling to similar events in England or Europe and a lot of our golfing talent is unable to sustain this kind of expense. We need this tour to continue to produce world class golfers by giving our home grown golf professionals the opportunity to develop their competitive game, in Scotland.andrdquo;andnbsp;
Optical Express launched the tour to encourage new Scottish talent and highlight how everyoneandrsquo;s game can be improved with laser eye surgery and healthy eyesight. Golf is a sport where clear vision is vital, Optical Express provides their customers with vision correction through laser eye surgery, glasses, contact lenses and IOL treatments.
andbull;andnbsp;Optical Express Pro Golf Tour website www.opticalexpressPGT.com
andbull;andnbsp;Terms and conditions of the golf tour
1.andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Membership fee to the Tour for all professionals will be a one off payment of andpound;75.
2.andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Membership fee to the Tour for all amateurs will be a one off payment of andpound;25.
3.andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Entry fee to each event for professionals will be andpound;115 of which andpound;100 will go directly to the event prize fund and andpound;15 will cover all administration costs.
4.andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Each event will have a guaranteed prize fund of andpound;8,000 providing the total number of entries is at least 45.
5.andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; If the number of entries exceeds 80, the prize fund will increase accordingly.
6.andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; All final prize fund amounts will be posted online prior to each event.
7.andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; The top 25 leading professionals at each event will receive a share of the prize fund providing the total numbers are 45 or more.
8.andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; The minimum number of entries to each event is 45.
9.andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Should the number of entries not reach the minimum amount the event will be cancelled and all entry fee monies will be returned in full.
10.andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Female professionals will play to approximately a 10% reduction in yardage distance.
11.andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; A maximum of 10 amateurs will be invited to compete at the discretion of the SGU selection programme.
12.andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; If the SGU fail to accept the 10 invitations it will then be opened up to all amateurs with a handicap of +1 or better on a first come basis.
13.andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Entry fee to each event for amateurs will be andpound;65 of which andpound;50 will go directly to the amateur prize-fund and andpound;15 will cover all administration costs.
14.andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Amateurs will compete for a maximum prize fund of andpound;500. SGU vouchers available to the top two placed amateurs at each event.
15.andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; Amateurs are NOT eligible to qualify for the Tour Championship
