Date change follows venue change for Aussie PGA

Following recent news that the Australian PGA Championship would be leaving its former Sunshine Coast home at the Palmer Coolum Resort, comes today's announcement that the tournament is moving to an early November date. According to the media release, the aim is to capitalise on the availability of premier players that time of year. The 2013 Australian PGA will start November 7 at the RACV Resort at Royal Pines on the Gold Coast. Royal Pines has hosted the Ladies Masters tournament for many years.

According to the press announcement, moving from its traditional spot as one of the final events of the PGA Tour of Australasia and OneAsia seasons was made to allow the championship to attract a quality field for its inaugural year on the Gold Coast.

CEO of the PGA Brian Thorburn said,  “Since announcing the new home of the Championship we’ve received some great feedback from a number of areas and we’re looking forward to creating a new legacy for the tournament on the Gold Coast. Our priority for this year is to ensure we position ourselves to maximise opportunities for the Australian PGA Championship, in terms of attracting both a quality field and the fans.”

“With the date now confirmed we can get on with business, which will mean doing everything in our power to create one of the most successful and popular events on the Gold Coast calendar.”

While Thorburn is unable to go into details, he did confirm the PGA has already approached a number of high profile international players, and confirmed talks will continue at the upcoming US Masters.  

“We’re also looking at a number of other initiatives to boost the off-course atmosphere. RACV Royal Pines provides us with a wonderful opportunity to enhance the entertainment value and we’re looking forward to working with our stakeholders to bring some of these new ideas to life.”

Minister for Tourism, Major Events, Small Business, and the Commonwealth Games, Jann Stuckey, said the Championship would deliver significant economic and tourism benefits for the Gold Coast.

“The Australian PGA Championship is a great addition to the Gold Coast event calendar and will boost visitation to the region during November,” Ms Stuckey said.

“Our plan to rebuild tourism is to have a more coordinated and strategic approach to attracting visitors whether they come for holidays, festivals or events like the Australian PGA Championship.”

“As we look toward the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, it is world-class events like this that showcase our region as a premier sporting event destination.”

The Australian PGA Championship presented by Coca-Cola will be played at RACV Royal Pines from Thursday 7^th – Sunday 10^th November. Sponsors include Tourism and Events Queensland, Coca-Cola, RACV, Gold Coast City Council, Gold Coast Tourism, Emirates, Volkswagen, Hahn Premium Light, Amadio Wine and Srixon.

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