Scottsdale, Ariz. (December 13, 2012) – Gateway Pro Tour is aware of the choices a player has when deciding to participate in the developmental professional golf tour system. For the past 12 years, Gateway has been one of the most trusted and reputable tours in the country. We have successfully hosted over 400 professional golf tournaments and have served over 4,000 golfers. We have paid out over 42 million in prize money and have never missed a payday to a player since our inception in 2001.
Gateway is committed to doing the best thing for the players and we believe the players should make the final determination. We have heard from many players who state that they want to play on the Gateway Tour and the question whether Gateway offers a 2013 Winter Series will be answered by the players. We are presenting players with our position and proposed changes.
We had been approached by a reorganized national tour with an offer to sell; however, we believe the future success of the players will be best served through support of localized tours. Gateway Pro Tour is currently working diligently with established tours to form an association. This new association, which will be comprised of some of the oldest and most recognized tours in the country, will work together to provide players the ultimate developmental professional golf tour experience. We believe the future for the players is better served by an association of localized tours providing benefits to players who are interested in traveling, but also keeping the option of local tournament play for those players not wanting to pay higher membership fees or traveling expenses.
One of the first changes Gateway will be making effective immediately is the elimination of the 2013 membership fee. All players who previously registered for their 2013 membership will be receiving a full refund. Players who have not yet registered for their 2013 membership will be able to do so for free by calling the Gateway Pro Tour office or online through the Gateway Pro Tour website. A complete list of our members will be posted on the Gateway Pro Tour website and continually updated.
The second change being made to benefit the players will be how tournament registrations are handled. Several players have expressed their concerns regarding field sizes. To eliminate the unknown, players will be able to register for a Gateway Pro Tour event, but will not be required to pay until the field size reaches a minimum of 100 players. Participants for each event will be posted on the tournament information page for everyone to view. Once the field size reaches 120 paid professionals, Gateway will also guarantee the purse at a minimum of $102,000.
Last, the Gateway Pro Tour sponsorship event which is being held on January 6-7 will now award the top five finishers of the two-day tournament full exemptions into all winter series tournaments.
We are changing and evolving to fit the needs of our players to create the best developmental professional golf tour system available. Register for your Gateway membership, register for the tournaments, and encourage your fellow players to register. Gateway wants players to participate in full fields, compete for larger purses and reach their ultimate objective.
Click link to view the video announcement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Mto66S1_gg&feature=youtube_gdata_player
About Gateway Pro Tour
Established in 2001, Gateway Pro Tour was created to help aspiring PGA TOUR professionals fine-tune their skills in competitive golf tournaments. In its 12-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 $42.1 million to players over that period. Gateway has served more than 3,400 players, with 161 GPT alums currently playing on the Web.com and PGA Tours. These players represent 24 PGA Tour wins and 77 Web.com Tour wins. Today, Gateway Pro Tour continues to provide the ideal competitive environment as well as significant financial opportunities for aspiring PGA TOUR and Web.com Tour professionals. For more information on sponsorship opportunities or information for the 2013 season, go to www.gatewayprotour.com.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GatewayProTourSeries
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GatewayTour
Contact:
