Consolidation of the 2 largest developmental tours in the US to provide professionals the optimum place to compete and develop nationally and regionally
Charlotte, N.C. – August 3, 2015 – Today, Golf Interact, LLC announced the acquisition of the Charlotte based Egolf Professional Tour and the immediate integration of the tour’s events and membership into the company’s signature brand, Swing Thought Tour. The Swing Thought Tour is the longest running developmental tour in the United States, originally founded as the Rick TC Jordan Tour which later rose to national prominence as the NGA Hooters Tour. The Swing Thought mantra, the first brand brought to market by Golf Interact, is to connect and develop golfers of all levels, and the Swing Thought Tour is the flagship vehicle being used by Golf Interact to help achieve these goals. With the acquisition of the Egolf Tour, Golf Interact has now assured Swing Thought’s place and impact in the golf industry by providing the largest coverage area and membership base in professional developmental golf in the U.S.A.
While the Swing Thought Tour has widely been recognized as the top developmental tour in the country, the Egolf Tour has long been regarded as one of the top tours to help aspiring professionals develop their games and, as such, has produced its own share of top PGA TOUR and Web.com Tour professionals. Brian Harman, Chesson Hadley, and Jason Kokrak are just a few of the names who have found success on the Egolf Tour and moved up to golf’s premier levels. The Swing Thought Tour and Egolf Tour have a long history together. In 2007, the NGA Hooters Tour (as the Swing Thought Tour was then known) paid to title the then Tarheel Tour (which would later become the Egolf Tour). After the purchase of the Tarheel Tour by Egolf, the tours often found themselves competing for the same professionals and conducting competing events in many of the same markets. Now, with the consolidation, players will have one top developmental tour, taking the best of both worlds, to provide players the opportunity to compete against the best competition on the best golf courses under the best structure in developmental golf, offering a true number three men’s professional golf tour in the U.S.A. as players work to realize their dreams of one day competing on the PGA TOUR.
Michael Rush, Founder and CEO of Golf Interact, on the acquisition commented, “We started out on our journey of developing and offering the best developmental professional golf tour last fall when we purchased the history rich NGA Tour, and in our original plans we had our eyes also set on the eGolf Tour, as a critical piece of the puzzle. We knew combining these long running businesses under our Swing Thought brand, would expedite the realization of that goal. At the heart of the plan is creating tremendous value for all involved, namely our customers, the players, and the value of rolling up these two long time competitors into the Swing Thought Tour for players, partners, vendors, courses, volunteers, alike will be felt immediately. The Swing Thought Tour is Golf Interact’s primary economic engine, and we have invested significantly in our tour with the expectation of growing it substantially over the next several years and beyond. Our team is excited and anxious to get moving into the new tour model that will enhance the experience for the players and all involved. As a player I know first hand what players go through when competing at this level. Easier, more cost effective, and more frequent access to the irrefutable proven platform that Robin and our tour team has developed over the years sending more players to the PGA Tour than any other tour, is crucial, with the costs and hurdles that players must face when working towards that dream.”
The most immediate impact to be felt with the acquisition should be increased field sizes for the Swing Thought Tour’s upcoming August run featuring three guaranteed $140,000 purse events being held at the Web.com Tour News Sentinel Open Monday Qualifier host Three Ridges Golf Course in Knoxville, Tenn. August 12-15, The River Club in North Augusta, S.C. August 19-22, and The Members Club at Woodcreek in Elgin, S.C. August 26-29. Members of the Egolf Tour will automatically have their memberships transferred to the Swing Thought Tour allowing them to compete in these events at member’s entry. The Swing Thought Tour will still conduct both the Palmetto State Open scheduled for August 5-7 at River Hills Country Club in Little River, S.C. and the Egolf Tour event scheduled for August 5-8 at River Hills Country Club in Lake Wylie, S.C. The Egolf Tour August 19-21 event at Sapona Country Club in Lexington, N.C. has been cancelled due to a scheduling conflict with the Swing Thought Tour’s North Augusta guaranteed purse event.
“We have always strived to make players the priority and position ourselves as the number one tour in developmental golf, by providing our members with an atmosphere that most closely mirrors what they will face at golf’s highest levels,” stated Swing Thought Tour President Robin L. Waters, “With the acquisition of the Egolf Tour by Golf Interact, the goal to further expand the Swing Thought brand and develop one true, solid professional golf tour in the U.S.A. has come to fruition. The future has never looked brighter. Golf Interact has truly lived up to the Swing Thought platform of connecting and developing golfers of all levels. This is definitely an historic day and one which shows our professionals are our top priority.”
The Swing Thought Tour will have several announcements coming in the next few weeks as exciting plans are put in place for the winter and the upcoming 2016 season. Players will have several exciting new options to look forward to including new annual memberships and localized regional series in addition to the tour’s premier national Pro Series. The regional tours will be centered around major cities such as Charlotte, Atlanta, states such as Florida, Arizona, Texas, and regions such as the Carolinas and southern California among others. Players will be able to join one of these regional series or they can join the main Swing Thought Tour Pro Series which would give them full playing privileges into any regional event. Be on the lookout in the next few weeks for regional series information, schedules, and our 2016 Pro Series kickoff. These are exciting times for developmental golf and touring professionals looking for the best place to showcase and develop their skills.
About Swing Thought Tour
Since its establishment in 1988, Swing Thought Tour alumni have won an amazing 17 Major Championships. Alumni include two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, Masters and Open Champion Zach Johnson, PGA Championship winners Keegan Bradley, Shaun Micheel and David Toms, Open Champions Ben Curtis, Stewart Cink and Tom Lehman, U.S. Open Champions Jim Furyk, Lee Janzen, and Lucas Glover, Open and PGA Champion John Daly, Tour Championship winners Chad Campbell, Billy Mayfair, and Camilo Villegas, and recent PGA Tour winners such as Scott Piercy, Matt Every, Robert Streb, Ben Martin, Kevin Streelman, Michael Thompson, Ted Potter Jr., Gary Woodland, Chris Kirk, John Senden, Brian Harman, Brendon Todd, Chesson Hadley, Russell Henley, Mark Wilson, George McNeill, Scott Stallings, and many many more. In addition, 89 of the 150 players competing in the 2014 Web.com Tour Q School Final Stage were past players on the Swing Thought Tour.
For more information on the new Swing Thought Tour visit swingthought.com or call 800-992-8748.
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