Europe’’s leading golfers will compete for an increased prize fund of £1,400,000 when they compete in the sixth Diageo Championship at Gleneagles from 10-13 June, 2004. This represents an increase of £200,000 on 2003 while the first prize will be worth £233,330 – an increase of £33,330 on the cheque Denmark’’s Søren Kjeldsen collected for his two stroke victory last year.
The Diageo Championship at Gleneagles has produced a series of outstanding winners since its inception in 1999, when England’’s Warren Bennett claimed the title. The purse that year was £250,000 and that has grown to £1,400,000 in the space of five years. Other champions over the PGA Centenary Course, venue for The 2014 Ryder Cup Matches, have been Ryder Cup player Pierre Fulke of Sweden (2000), Paul Casey of England (2001) and Australian Adam Scott (2002).
Graeme Marchbank, Championship Director, said: “The increase in the prize fund is further testament to Gleneagles and Diageo’’s commitment to the growth of the Championship and to the game of golf. I know that the players enjoy their time at Gleneagles and it is extremely gratifying that we can reward this enthusiasm with a further investment in the prizefund.”
Ken Schofield, Executive Director of The European Tour, said: “The announcement of this prize fund increase for The Diageo Championship at Gleneagles is yet another important part in the continuing growth of an event which has made substantial progress, both in terms of the prizemoney and status.
“Diageo’’s continued support further enhances this high-profile tournament and re-emphasises their long-term commitment to professional golf. Our Members always enjoy the annual visit to the outstanding Gleneagles Hotel and we look forward to another successful week in June.”
