CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The eGolf Professional Tour announced that it has been granted an exemption into the European Tour’s King Hassan II Trophy in Agadir, Morocco, to be contested at Golf du Palais Royal on March 22-25, 2012. The exemption will go the eGolf Tour member who accumulates the most earnings through the first two events of the 2012 season: The Palmetto Hall Championship presented by Westin Hilton Head Island on February 15-18, and the Oldfield Open on February 22-25.
The King Hassan II Trophy was recognized as an official European Tour event for the first time in 2010 as part of The Race to Dubai. The event was first contested in 1971 and boasts past champions such as Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington, Nick Price, Seve Ballesteros and Lee Trevino.
The 2012 edition will be contested at Golf du Palais Royal and Golf de L’Océan, with the former being located inside the walls of the Royal Palace. The purse for the 2012 King Hassan II Trophy will be €1,500,000 (Euros), or the equivalent of $1,915,649 (USD).
The relationship between the eGolf Tour, the ATH and the country of Morocco, goes back over two years, and has produced a multitude of success for a number of eGolf Tour players.
In 2010, the eGolf Tour was granted 10 exemptions into the Challenge Tour’s Moroccan Golf Classic, in turn becoming the first U.S. tour to be awarded multiple exemptions into an event sanctioned by the European Tour.
eGolf Tour member Chris Baker earned one of the ten spots and made the most of his opportunity with rounds of 69-66-72-68—275 and his first career Challenge Tour title. With the win, Baker became the first American-born player to win on the Challenge Tour in nearly five years, and was just the 10th player in history to win his first Challenge Tour title in his first career start.
In March of 2011, the eGolf Tour became the first United States-based tour to conduct multiple stroke play events on the continent of Africa with the inaugural Samanah Classic and El Jadida Classic, won by Chris McCartin and Phillip Mollica, respectively.
“The eGolf Professional Tour is extremely happy to accept this spot into the King Hassan II Trophy,” said eGolf Tour president David Siegel. “The goal of the tour has always been to provide multiple avenues for our players to further their careers, and this spot will certainly help to do so for one deserving member this year. We are honored that the ATH would choose to award us yet another exemption into their prestigious event, and we are thrilled to continue building upon this wonderful partnership we have established.”
In addition to a spot in the event, the ATH will provide round-trip airfare from New York’s JFK International Airport to Agadir, Morocco for the winner of the exemption.
Last fall, six-time eGolf Tour winner Frank Adams III of Laurinburg, NC parlayed three top-10 finishes in the 2011 Road to Morocco into an exemption into the 2012 King Hassan II Trophy, courtesy of the ATH. The exemption was the second to be granted to the eGolf Tour via a Road to Morocco points race, with the 2010 edition going to former British Amateur champion Drew Weaver, who in turn competed in the 2011 King Hassan II Trophy.
“Golf du Palais Royal is an immaculate venue and one that should easily rank amongst the world’s best courses,” said Weaver. “To play an event inside the walls of a palace is an incredible experience in and of itself. Add to that the fact that you look out over the ocean when you glance over the walls, and it is without doubt a championship venue on a stunning property.”
The eGolf Tour will post a separate, members-only money list during the first two events of the year in order to determine the winner of the exemption.
The Palmetto Hall Championship presented by Westin Hilton Head Island will be conducted on both the Robert Cupp Course and Arthur Hills Course at Palmetto Hall Plantation (Hilton Head Island, SC) on February 15-18, while the Oldfield Open will be conducted at Oldfield Country Club (Okatie, SC) and Chechessee Creek Club (Okatie, SC) on February 22-25. Both events will be 72-hole contests with estimated full-field purses of $235,000. For more information on the exemption, the first two events or the 2012 eGolf Professional Tour, please visit www.egolfprofessionaltour.com.
About eGolf Professional Tour:
The eGolf Professional Tour is a Charlotte, NC-based professional golf tour that has conducted 54- and 72-hole tournaments in the Southeast since its inception in 2002. The tour features approximately 24 professional tournaments annually in the states of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Since the 2009 season, the eGolf Tour has paid out over $11 million in prize money. In March of 2011, the tour conducted two events in Morocco, in turn becoming the first United States-based tour to conduct multiple tournaments on the continent of Africa. In its 10-year history, the tour has seen the likes of Keegan Bradley, Will MacKenzie, Jason Bohn, Steve Marino, Tommy Gainey, Matt Bettencourt, William McGirt and others ascend to the PGA TOUR, while over 150 past eGolf Professional Tour players have gone on to play on the Nationwide Tour.
For Information:
eGolf – http://egolf.com
eGolf Professional Tour – http://egolfprofessionaltour.com
Contact:
eGolf Professional Tour
Stewart Moore
Chief Operating Officer
VP, Public Relations
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