Two new events for Australian PGA

The Australian PGA will welcome two new tournaments set to boost it’s prize coffers by more than 40 percent in 2012.

The Australian PGA will welcome two new tournaments set to boost it’s prize coffers by more than 40 percent in 2012.

The announcement was made by the Australian PGA Tour’s chief executive on Thursday, as reported by Reuters, just days after the two new events were officially unveiled.

The Perth International Golf Championship and the NZ Pro-am Championship will add at least AU$2.3 million in 2012, the tour revealed – equal to a 41 percent increase.

“With these two new tournaments and with the continued growth of OneAsia, we are constantly working towards a vibrant domestic and regional tournament platform for our growing elite ranks,” Brian Thorburn, CEO of the Australian PGA, said according to Reuters.

“Over the last month Australian golf has showcased our best courses, the world’s best players and made big inroads to securing additional corporate support. Next week’s JBWere Masters will culminate an incredible year and we are very optimistic that we can keep this momentum going into 2012.”

Thorburn added that securing more big name players to feature in the events will be a key part of their strategy.

“We have already had great interest from a number of high profile players for 2012,” he said in a statement.

“While we can’t compete for prize money with the likes of the PGA Tour and the European Tour, we certainly have a reputation for world class golf courses and our tournament hospitality – Darren Clarke was a great example of that this year at Coolum.”