The European Tour’s new Venue and Property strategy, officially launched in May, is delivering an immediate spin-off with several new and existing Member-Venues staging key tournaments in 2009.
Two full scale tournaments on The European Tour International Schedule – The Open de España and The European Open – were played on courses which are part of the Tour’s expanding property portfolio, namely the PGA de Cataluyna near Girona, Spain, and The London Golf Club in Kent, England. In both cases, players commented on both the overall quality of the venues and also the high-calibre presentation of the courses themselves.
Additionally, the Angel Gallardo-Neil Coles designed PGA de Cataluyna, where Frenchman Thomas Levet captured the Open de España in April, will host the Final Stage of The European Tour Qualifying School for the second successive year in November this year.
Linna Golf in Vanajanlinna, Finland, designed by Tim Lobb/European Golf Design, comes on board as the host venue for the SK Golf Challenge this week on the European Challenge Tour; Golf and Country Club, Fleesensee, Germany, is the venue for the Qualifying School - Stage One from September 22-25 while the Baltic State of Estonia joins The European Tour family for the first time when European Tour Course Estonian Golf and Country Club stages the European Qualifier for the Omega Mission Hills World Cup from September 24-27.
The London Golf Club was announced during this year’s European Open as the first European Tour Destination - a wide-ranging partnership which will spearhead the Tour’s new Venue and Property strategy. David MacLaren, Director of Venue and Property Development for The European Tour, said: “I am delighted that our Agreement with The London Golf Club has now been fully completed and we look forward to working closely with a Venue that has become recognised as one of the country’s finest golfing challenges
“In addition to the London Golf Club, we aim to build a portfolio of 10-12 world-class venues, known as European Tour Destinations, together with our existing network of European Tour Courses. The quality of these venues is demonstrated by the number of tournaments being hosted by our network in 2009 and is a tangible sign of the value and benefits that the European Tour can deliver”.
Finnish-born Ryder Cup player, Jarmo Sandelin of Sweden, today gave Linna Golf a massive boost on the eve of the SK Golf Challenge. He said: “It’s a tremendous golf course with the infrastructure to stage a full European Tour event. I am sure that will happen one day soon.”
