Munich – An early start to the tour on excellent courses in the sunny South, return to Central Europe to tried and tested venues at the end of April and top-class newcomers: the Pro Golf Tour 2018 season promises plenty of sporting highlights. The tournament year started once again with two events by the Red Sea in Egypt where the Germans Michael Hirmer and Jeremy Paul were able to hold their own against the competition on the Sokhna Golf Club courses. The players went on to Morocco shortly after. The tour has been fostering a close partnership with the Association du Trophée Hassan II de Golf since 2010. The Scotsman Liam Johnston, Julien de Poyen from France and the Dutchman Robbie van West secured the coveted title at the first three tournaments. With the Open Ocean, Open Tazegzout and Open Royal Golf Anfa Mohammedia, there are now another three events in the western state of Mahgreb before the tour heads home from North Africa.

The opening tournament in Europe is the Haugschlag NÖ Open, which is being hosted at the Haugschlag golf resort from 25 to 27 April. The EXTEC Trophy 2018 by ATOMIC DRINKS is then being held again shortly after at Liberec in the Czech Republic. The Raiffeisen Pro Golf Tour St. Pölten 2018 presented by Elation Travel in Austria’s Neidling (30 May to 1 June) is the second 2018 tournament in Austria. The tour then returns to the Glashofen Neusaß golf club from 17 to 19 June. An event was lasted hosted there in 2016, the winner then was Max Kramer. The Pro Golf Tour is also hosting the McNeill Open 2018 sponsored by KUHN Maßkonfektion there this year.

Then the players move on to Poland: the Gradi PGA Polish Masters, which was held for the first time last year and very well received by the players, is taking place at the Gradi Golf Club from 25 to 27 June.

The tour is celebrating its return to the Netherlands with the Broekpolder International Open: there is EUR 30,000 prize money and just as many Order of Merit points up for grabs at the Broekpolder Golf Club in Vlaardingen from 5 to 7 July. The last Dutch Pro Golf Tour event was held in 2008 with the Harderwold Classic. Just five days later, from 12 to 14 July, the golf stars of the future set off for Bad Bramstedt near Hamburg to play for the Gut Bissenmoor Classic title.

The Zell am See – Kaprun Open presented by SalzburgerLand decorated the tour calendar for the first time last July, this season the professionals are taking to the course with alpine panorama from 19 to 21 July. “It was fantastic to be able to organise a high-ranking tournament again after 30 years. Normally, closed courses for tournaments are not endorsed by our members but this was different this time. Everyone enjoyed the energy and great mood that the upcoming professionals brought to our golf club,” says CEO Verena Kuhlank.

The Leipziger Golf Open (6 to 8 August) is a new highlight on the Pro Golf Tour programme; 40,000 euro prize money is being distributed at the superbly prepared Golf & Country Club Leipzig: “The club has already been supporting specific players on the Pro Golf Tour for some years so it was obvious to us to host a tournament ourselves on our own course for once. We don’t just want to advertise the wonderful city of Leipzig and Central Germany in general but also show that East Germany has one or two golfing gems to offer too,” says Head Professional Alexander Kessler looking forward to the event.

Once a tournament has been held just outside Munich again with the Starnberg Open from 16 to 18 August, a completely new event in the tour’s history follows at the start of September: the tour players are competing for the first time in a match play format with the NEW GOLF CLUB Matchplay Championship. While the first two rounds are in regular stroke play, the top players then battle for victory in match play mode. Due to this format, the tournament in Neu-Ulm doesn’t last three days but four, from 2 to 5 September. Then the grand tour finale is on the programme with the Castanea Resort Championship 2018 in Adendorf from 24 to 26 September. While all the other events, with the exception of the Leipziger Golf Open, are endowed with prize money of 30,000 euro, the battle is then on for the record winnings of 50,000 euro and just as many points for the Pro Golf Tour Order of Merit. Thus ensuring that sporting thrills are guaranteed until the very last putt, as it is only definite then which players will take the top rankings in the final Pro Golf Tour Order of Merit, which guarantee promotion to the European Challenge Tour 2019.

The final item on the Pro Golf Tour 2018 tournament year agenda is the Qualifying School, which takes place from 9 to 12 October at the Paderborner Land GC and decides who will be allowed to start at all the Pro Golf Tour tournaments in 2019 and gain valuable experience and points. As that is namely the whole point of the Pro Golf Tour: the perfect stepping stone to a successful tour player’s career. “The tournaments are organised and delivered very professionally, the courses are extremely well maintained and challenging, and the competition on the tour, which I still follow with interest, is getting stronger and stronger. I don’t think there’s a better opportunity anywhere in Europe for a young ambitious player to be introduced to professional golf today, gain experience in tournaments and then start on their career path to the European Tour through the Pro Golf Tour,” says Order of Merit winner in 2006 and multiple Ryder Cup and Majors Champion Martin Kaymer.