Gate fee waived at PGA Seniors
Jun 24 2009 by Tim Taylor, The Journal
THE PGA have pushed the boat out in a bid to make this week’s PGA Seniors Championship at Slaley as accessible to spectators as possible – thanks to the event’s hosts and sponsors.
All you have to pay is £5 for car parking when you arrive, which gets you in for any of the four days, starting tomorrow, or all four if you like.
You can take along up to a maximum of five people per car, including children and the driver.
The decision by tournament organisers to waive the gate entry fee follows the success of a complimentary ticket offer promotion which has already attracted nearly 5,000 downloads.
The success of the free ticket offer at the recent European Open at The London Club, along with the interest shown in the PGA Seniors complimentary ticket promotion, has prompted the organisers to this week extend that to spectators who turn up on the day.
PGA sponsorship manager Jim Croxton said: “We can only afford to do this because of the incredible generosity of De Vere, who are not only staging this event, they are also the main sponsors.”
He added: “Sponsorship like De Vere’s is extremely precious in the current economic climate but, even though I am now based at PGA headquarters at The Belfry in Warwickshire, everybody in golf knows how much they are doing for the sport all round the country.
“De Vere support all levels of the game particularly in the North East where for example top amateurs benefit from The Journal Champion of Champions.
“Only in Northumberland and Durham County does every club champion get the chance to compete on the same course that Woosnam and Torrance have played on, with a free lunch thrown in. Nike are putting up the prize table for the Champions and the PGA is also indebted to them as our official apparel suppliers for the Seniors.
“So The Journal seems the right place for us to thank our other sponsors – Aesica Pharmaceutical, Hertel, Real Radio, Titleist, The Danwood Group and Coca-Cola Enterprises. The PGA has also been working in partnership with Northumberland County Council to achieve a high, positive profile for Northumberland through the associated television coverage of the event.”
THE big attraction off the course is the Nikegolf Interactive Zone. This will be open near the practice range on all four tournament days (10am-4pm) from Thursday until the deciding round on Sunday.
Free tuition is available from the resort’s team of PGA professionals. Golfers can get custom fitted and put their swing characteristics to the test on Nike’s Flightscope software.
