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Players trying to forge full-time tour careers in Europe have been dealt a severe blow with news that the EuroPro Tour is to fold.
The circuit, which sits one rung below the Challenge Tour, will stage its final event next month.
In a statement, EuroPro Tour CEO Dan Godding said that had been left with no alternative but to shut up shop due to “the economic landscape of increasing costs and the changing habits of the worldwide audience”.
This, it says, means that “there is no longer the support nor demand in the market” for the tour.
The tour first opened its doors in 2002 as a partnership between Sandy Jones and the PGA’s Mastercard Tour, and Barry Hearn and Matchroom Sport’s EuroPro Golf Tour.
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It has proven to be a huge success over the past two decades, providing a launchpad for the careers of players such as Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Tyrrell Hatton.
Robert Maxfield, the chief executive of the PGA, said: “I would like to thank and congratulate
Matchroom for successfully operating the PGA EuroPro Tour for so many
years.
“A number of today’s global golf stars owe a huge debt of
gratitude to the PGA EuroPro Tour for providing them with the
opportunity to realise their dreams.
“It is sad that this will be the last season of the PGA EuroPro Tour but we can all look back with great pride on what has been achieved over the last 20 years.”
Matchroom Sport and PGA EuroPro Tour President Barry Hearn added: “I have been honoured to have created the
PGA EuroPro Tour alongside Sandy Jones of the PGA and to watch the
development of so many aspiring and inspiring professional golfers.
“Sadly, in these changing times for
professional golf support for Europes’ biggest development tour has not
been sufficient to justify its continuation.
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“However, I must stress my eternal
gratitude to Dan Godding and his team at the PGA EuroPro Tour, the PGA,
our broadcasters Sky Sports and the golf clubs and volunteers in both
the UK and Europe without whom we would never have created so many
opportunities for next generation of professional golfers.”
The last-ever EuroPro Tour event will be the Matchroom Sport Tour Championship, taking place at the Lough Erne Resort from October 19-21, where the top-five at the end of the event will be promoted to the Challenge Tour for 2023.
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