The Australian PGA Championship has a new home on the Gold Coast.
The PGA of Australia today announced that the
Australian PGA Championship will be moving to a new home. The RACV Royal Pines Resort will play host to the event for the next five years.
CEO of the PGA of Australia Brian Thornburn made the announcement today from the SkyPoint Observation Deck on the Gold Coast.
“The Australian PGA Championship has a reputation for being a fun, relaxed tournament and we think we have the opportunity to not only recreate, but enhance that at RACV Royal Pines. Additionally, the opportunity to work alongside RACV is a significant one, and we’re looking forward to developing a multifaceted partnership over the next five years”, Thornburn said.
The Australian PGA Championship’s contract has finished at Palmer Coolum which had played host to the event since 2002 and tournament organisers opted not to renew the contract, possibly in lieu of recent troubles with new course owner Clive Palmer.
Clive Palmer had locked out Australian PGA Championship organisers only days before last year’s tournament after negotiations broke down concerning on-course signage and the installation of a giant dinosaur.
The event at Coolum was always a favourite with the players and it was no doubt a difficult decision to leave. Coolum provided some great moments in Australian golf history including the remarkable tie between Peter Lonard and Jarrod Moseley in 2002, Nick O’Hern’s amazing bunker shot to claim victory in 2006 and of course Daniel Popovic’s victory last year.
However the PGA of Australia had no choice but to move the event in favour of a less volatile relationship with the owners of Royal Pines Resort. The decision may come under fire with Royal Pines perceived as an inferior golf course to Coolum, but under the circumstances the decision was made with financial backing from sponsors and the golf course owners.
Reportedly, Clive Palmer made a last ditch attempt to retain the tournament at his Coolum Resort but the PGA of Australia will be hoping that all interactions with the mining magnate are now firmly in the past.
But Palmer isn’t exactly predictable in his actions, and let’s hope he doesn’t go out of his way to hinder the game any further.