The PGA TOUR and ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia have announced that they have signed a cooperation and golf-development agreement, with the two golf organisations collaborating to strengthen professional tournament golf in both the Australasian region as well as globally. The agreement went into effect on December 4, 2017.
The two organisations have long enjoyed a strong and healthy working relationship as members of the International Federation of PGA Tours, jointly sanctioning, with other governing bodies, the four World Golf Championships events and the World Cup of Golf. This new agreement will further strengthen the two Tours’ affiliation, formalising the efforts for both the PGA TOUR and the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia to work together in a closer, more collaborative manner to support each Tour’s individual development.
With that in mind, the two golf tours, as members of the International Federation of PGA Tours, will bring the World Cup of Golf to The Metropolitan Golf Club in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia November 21-25, 2018. With the World Cup of Golf headed to Australia for the sixth time, this will move the country ahead of China and Spain in hosting the second-most number of World Cups. Only the United States, with 11, has hosted the tournament more often than Australia.
“We have always valued our association with the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia, as numerous significant events in our history have occurred in Australia,” said PGA TOUR Executive Vice President and Chief Global Officer Ty Votaw.
“Australian players have also been pivotal in the history of the TOUR, whether it has been World Golf Hall of Famers David Graham, Kel Nagle, Greg Norman or Peter Thomson, or PLAYERS Championship winners such as, again, Greg Norman, Jason Day, Adam Scott and Steve Elkington—and so many others.”
Gavin Kirkman, CEO of the PGA of Australia, which owns and oversees the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia, is equally as supportive.
“The ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia and the PGA TOUR have always shared a productive relationship, and this agreement is a great fit for us as we look to grow and enhance golf in the Australasian region,” said Kirkman.
“This agreement will provide assistance in the development of opportunities that grow the game of golf in Australia and also an ability to further the profile of Australia’s golfing talent.”
The PGA TOUR took the Presidents Cup outside the United States for the first time in 1998. After contesting the first two editions of the tournament in the United States, the PGA TOUR moved the tournament to The Royal Melbourne Golf Club, with the International Team capturing its only triumph in the biennial event’s 12-tournament history. The Presidents Cup returned to Royal Melbourne in 2011, and the Club will again host the tournament in 2019.
“The Presidents Cup is such an important tournament, and we recognise all that the Australian golf industry and fans have done to ensure the success of this competition,” Votaw continued. “We anticipate that the 2019 Presidents Cup will be every bit as successful as its two predecessors.”
Thomson and Norman have combined to captain five Presidents Cup International Teams, while Australia has hosted the World Cup of Golf five times. Australia has twice won the World Cup of Golf while competing in Australia, once in 1959, with the team of Nagle and Thomson, and most recently in 2013 with the team of Day and Scott, both tournaments held at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
ABOUT PGA TOUR
The PGA TOUR is the leading global platform in professional golf, showcasing the highest expression of excellence, both on and off the course. The PGA TOUR’s mission is to entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back, generate significant charitable and economic impact in the communities in which it plays, grow and protect the game of golf and provide financial opportunities for TOUR players.
The PGA TOUR co-sanctions more than 130 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Web.com Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR-China. Members on the PGA TOUR represent the world’s best players, hailing from 25 countries (84 members are from outside the United States). Worldwide, PGA TOUR tournaments are broadcast to more than 1 billion households in 226 countries and territories in 23 languages. Virtually all tournaments are organised as non-profit organisations in order to maximize charitable giving. In 2017, tournaments across all Tours generated a record of more than $180 million for local and national charitable organisations, bringing the all-time total to $2.65 billion.
The PGA TOUR’s website is PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, and the organisation is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
ABOUT ISPS HANDA PGA TOUR OF AUSTRALASIA
The ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia is the elite tournament destination for Professional golf in Australasia. Encompassing events in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, all tournaments on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia carry Official World Golf Ranking points.
Throughout the course of the season Professionals playing on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia compete for the title of Order of Merit champion. Awarded the prestigious Norman Von Nida Medal, past Order of Merit winners include Greg Norman, Peter Senior, Robert Allenby, Aaron Baddeley, Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy and Greg Chalmers.
As one of the leading professional golf Tours the world over, the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia is a founding member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. The International Federation has taken on the responsibility of generating funds for the worldwide development and expansion of the game and the management and sanctioning of prestigious tournaments, including the World Golf Championships and the World Cup of Golf.
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