Jack Nicklaus-designed Heritage Golf & Country Club in Melbourne will play host to new tournament for 2013, the Heritage Classic, to be played January 24–27.
The announcement is welcome news for the PGA Tour of Australasia, who says the addition of the Heritage Classic will further boost playing and earning opportunities for the country’s many Professionals.
“It is wonderful to see the PGA Tour of Australasia further expand with the inclusion of the Heritage Classic in 2013,” said Brian Thorburn, Chief Executive Officer of the PGA of Australia.
“Tournament growth is essential to the success of the PGA Tour of Australasia and with a strong line up of state based championships and new national tournaments, the likes of the Perth International, there are plenty of positives for Australian professional golf.”
“I would like to commend Sunny Sun from the Heritage Golf and Country Club for the hard work already completed to secure the Heritage Classic, and we look forward to working with them into the future to ensure the ongoing success of the tournament.”
Heritage Golf and Country Club is a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course that opened for play in 2000. Mr.Sun from the Heritage Golf and Country Club, said the staging of the Heritage Classic is an important step forward for the golf club, which changed owners just over 12 months ago.
“We are very excited to be partnering with the PGA Tour of Australasia to host the Heritage Classic. We feel that combining a premiere golf tournament with Australia Day celebrations will give the event special significance.”
“In keeping with the multicultural theme of Australia Day, we are hoping to invite a selection of top golfers from China to join the field. There is much interest already from Chinese media and this will ensure that this event will get international exposure. “
“We believe that The Heritage Golf and Country Club is a very special venue and we are looking forward to welcoming players, officials, media, sponsors and spectators to The Heritage Classic.”
Joining the Victorian Open, Victorian PGA Championship and International Final Qualifying Australasia, the Heritage Classic complements an impressive Victorian swing on the Tour schedule.
A Professional to have already tested The St John Course, where the Heritage Classic will be played in 2013, was Scott Laycock.
"For this time of the year the course is presented really well so when summer approaches it will only improve further and I am sure it will be in peak condition for us to compete during the Heritage Classic," said Laycock.
"The thing with Jack Nicklaus designed golf courses is its not always an advantage to be long off the tee, you need to position your tee shot on the correct side of the fairway, it’s a thinking man’s course which should make for an interesting week of golf,"
"I am really looking forward to the Tour heading to the Heritage Golf and Country Club, its fantastic to have another event on the schedule so, thank you to Mr Sunny Sun and his team for this opportunity."
Boasting impressive prizemoney of $130,000 in 2013, Professionals will also be enticed to the Heritage Classic by the opportunity to play the Jack Nicklaus layout. Nicklaus Design has created no fewer than 95 courses worldwide that have hosted a professional tournament or a significant national amateur championship.
The 6670-metre course is situated in the Yarra Valley and is characterised by wide yet contoured fairways, which will challenge the Professionals and place an increased importance on shot placement.
Along with the prestige of being the inaugural winner of the Heritage Classic, a place in the field for the Tour’s biggest tournaments including the Australian Masters, Emirates Australian Open, Australian PGA Championship presented by Coca-Cola and the BMW New Zealand Open is also on offer.
The 2013 Heritage Classic will be contested at the Heritage Golf and Country Club from 25th – 27th January, 2013.
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