Web.com Tour announces inaugural
Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Championship
RTJ Trail at Capitol Hill (Senator) to host next wave of PGA TOUR stars April 15-21
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – The Web.com Tour announced today a new tournament set to debut on the annual schedule in 2019. The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Championship will be held at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Capitol Hill (Senator Course) in Prattville, Alabama, the week of April 15-21, 2019, with 156 players competing for a $550,000 purse.
“We are excited to once again partner with the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail as we deliver a tremendous new event on the Web.com Tour,” said Web.com Tour President Alex Baldwin. “The Senator Course has a wonderful history on our Tour and in our sport, and we are confident that the passionate golf fans in Alabama will enjoy the opportunity to get up close to the game’s next wave of PGA TOUR stars.”
The announcement marks the Web.com Tour’s 11th partnership with the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, which hosted the Web.com Tour Championship from 1997 through 2005 at four different properties, including the Senator Course each of the final five years. The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, which opened in 1992, features 468 holes of golf across 11 sites in Alabama.
“This is the 23rd consecutive year professional golf has been played on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, and we look forward to welcoming the Web.com Tour, its players and fans back for the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Championship,” said John Cannon, President of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. “While our world-class courses are open to the public all year long, we look forward watching male and female professional golfers take on the Senator Course in 2019. Being able to hold multiple professional tournaments on the same course in the same year is a true testament to the quality of our golf courses and the great work of our staff.”
The Symetra Tour’s Guardian Championship has been played on the Senator Course for the past two years, with the 2019 event slated for September 20-22. LPGA tournaments were played on the Senator Course between 2007 and 2016, producing winners such as Lorena Ochoa, Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis and Ariya Jutanugarn.
Designed by Robert Trent Jones, the Senator Course was named as one of Golf Magazine’s “Top 10 New Courses” in the United States after opening in 1999. The course is one of three onsite at the Capitol Hill facility (Legislator, Judge) and features a Scottish-style layout complete with over 160 pot bunkers and 20-to-40-foot mounding.
The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Championship will be operated by Global Golf Management (GGM). Chicago-based GGM has successfully staged more than 1,000 events on five continents, and currently provides consultation, management, and tournament operations service for over 40 professional golf events across the globe.
Tournament week will feature player practice rounds on Monday and Tuesday, with a pro-am slated for Wednesday. The first official round of play will begin on Thursday, with the field cut to the low 65 players and ties following Friday’s second round. The final two rounds of play will be contested on Saturday and Sunday, with a trophy ceremony immediately following the conclusion of the tournament.
With 50 available PGA TOUR cards for the following season (since 2013), the Web.com Tour is the path to the PGA TOUR. Twenty-five TOUR cards are reserved for the leading points earners at the end of the 24-event Regular Season. Another 25 are up for grabs at the three-event Web.com Tour Finals that follow the Regular Season in August and September.
During the PGA TOUR’s 2017-18 season, eight players from the Class of 2017 won titles, including Ryan Armour, Austin Cook, Ted Potter, Brice Garnett, Andrew Landry, Aaron Wise, Troy Merritt and Andrew Putnam. Wise’s victory at the AT&T Byron Nelson last May was the 500th by a former Web.com Tour player – a list which includes 23 major championships and eight PLAYERS Championships.
Two players from the Class of 2018 have won on the PGA TOUR this season – Cameron Champ (Sanderson Farms Championship) and Adam Long (The Desert Classic).
The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Championship replaces the Tour’s El Bosque Mexico Championship by INNOVA this season, which was recently cancelled due to the gas crisis affecting Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico.
For more information on sponsorship and volunteer opportunities, pro-am availability and tickets, please contact Selina Maddox at selina@nullglobalgolfmanagement.com.
For more information on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, please visit RTJGolf.com.
For more information on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Championship, please visit PGATOUR.com.
ABOUT THE WEB.COM TOUR
Founded (1990), owned and operated by the PGA TOUR, the Web.com Tour continues to identify those players who are ready to compete and win on golf’s biggest stage. In 2013, the Web.com Tour became The Path to the PGA TOUR with all 50 available PGA TOUR cards coming through the Web.com Tour and the season culminating at the Web.com Tour Finals. This season marks the 30th year of competition on the Web.com Tour. Three out of four PGA TOUR members are Web.com Tour alumni. Tour alumni have won more than 500 PGA TOUR titles, including 23 major championships and eight PLAYERS Championships. To learn more about the PGA TOUR, the Web.com Tour and to follow the season-long quest for a PGA TOUR card, visit PGATOUR.COM, or follow the Tour on social media via Twitter (@WebDotComTour), Facebook (facebook.com/WebDotComTour) and Instagram (Instagram.com/WebDotComTour).
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