SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (November 11, 2011) – Gateway Pro Tour announced today that for the second straight year it will award a Gateway Pro Tour member an exemption to the Nationwide Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am.
A “Points Race” will be conducted throughout the first three tournaments of the Arizona Winter Series, with the cumulative points leader for those three events earning the exemption. The three tournaments that will help decide the exemption winner will be played at Anthem’s Persimmon Course (Jan. 17-19), Anthem’s Ironwood Course (Jan. 23-25) and at Raven Verrado (Jan. 31-Feb. 2). ONLY Gateway Pro Tour members are eligible to compete for the exemption.
This is the first of four planned “Points Races” the GPT will hold throughout the 2012 Arizona Winter Series season. The remaining three “Points Races” will be conducted during Winter Series Tournaments 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12. Nationwide Tour playing exemptions and/or PGA Tour Q-School Bonuses will be awarded to each of the cumulative point leaders.
“The Points Race format was something we developed last year as a competitive way to award the Nationwide Tour exemptions and Q-School bonuses, and it was extremely popular among the players,” said Ryan Pray, executive director of the Gateway Pro Tour. “It rewards those who play well over a three-tournament span, rather than just one tournament, and really helps prepare them for the next level, which is really what our Tour is all about.”
Memberships for the 2012 season are currently being accepted, with the membership fee set at $1,000 before Dec. 1 and $1,500 after Dec. 1. All memberships are effective Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2012.
For additional information about memberships and pricing or to apply online go to: http://gatewayprotour.com/arizona-tournament/entry-info/.
Established in 2001, Gateway Pro Tour was created to help aspiring PGA TOUR professionals fine-tune their skills in competitive golf tournaments. In its 10-year history, the tour has maintained a leading position as the premier developmental professional golf tour on the West Coast and has paid out more than $40.7 million to players over that period. Last year 63 of the 153 players that advanced to PGA TOUR Q-School final stage were current or former GPT players, and there are currently 125 GPT alums currently playing on the PGA TOUR and Nationwide Tour. Today, Gateway Pro Tour continues to provide the ideal competitive environment as well as significant financial opportunities for aspiring PGA TOUR and Nationwide Tour professionals. For more information on sponsorship opportunities or membership information for the 2012 season, go to www.gatewayprotour.com.
Contact: