New tour tees off in April; pros, amateurs invited

By STEVE WILLIAMS

The opportunities for area professionals to groom their games for a possible future in big-time golf have been expanded again.

One year after the Tar Heel Tour debuted in the Charlotte area, the Atlantic Coast Golf Tour is now up and running and it will feature several tournaments in the Triad and Triangle.

The new developmental tour is a spin-off of the Triangle Tour although it’s bigger in every way. While the Triangle Tour had mostly one- and two-day events, the Atlantic Coast Tour will have all three-day events. And, while earnings potential on the Triangle Tour was limited, winners on the Atlantic Coast Tour have the chance to pocket a nice sum of $5,000 in each event.

“We went into this looking to grow the Triangle Tour,” said Mark Hopkins, who is teaming up with Triangle Tour operator Wayne Moore as the new tour’s organizers.  “Some new things had to be added to this tour. It’s almost a new business model. We are guaranteeing $5,000 for first place in the pro division. We felt like that would be a big incentive to get players on the tour.”

While those changes are major, one new wrinkle may make the tour more popular for the state’s veteran club pros.

“By request of several of the guys my age – 40 and over – we’ve added the 40-over division,” said Hopkins, head pro at Southwick Golf Club in Graham. “This will be good for guys aspiring to qualify for the Champions Tour and for those guys not wanting to compete against those 22- and 23-year old limberbacks. They can get out there and find out if they’ve got the game or improve their game for the Champions Tour.”

With the Carolinas PGA tournament schedule being cut back in recent years, there may be more time for the club pros to get out during the middle of the week. All but one of the tournaments is scheduled for Tuesday through Thursday.

“I’d love to see some of the area pros participate,” Hopkins said, noting that the Tour is sanctioned by the Carolinas PGA. “Playing in pro-ams is enjoyable, but it’s nothing like going out there and playing for $5,000 to get the competitive juices going.”

Four of the events will begin the Tuesday following a Monday qualifier for the Nationwide Tour in the same locale. A large number of pros try to qualify on those Mondays and very few get in. The Atlantic Coast Tour will be there with entry forms for the ones that don’t.

Competition will kick off April 8-10 at The Preserve, the new Davis Love course located near Chapel Hill. The 20-event schedule concludes with the Tour Championship Oct. 14-16 at Duke Golf Club in Durham.

“We’re going to play mostly in North Carolina, but we’re going to Virginia three times and South Carolina three times. We feel by spreading out, it’s going to give us that much more exposure.”

Players will essentially be competing for their own money. There is a $300 joining fee, plus a $450 entry fee for each event.

Players do not have to join to play, however. They can pay an additional $50 for each tourney, which is almost like a down payment since they will become full-time members after playing in seven events.

The top 30 percent in each tournament will receive a check of no less than $450.

The 40-plus division carries a $350 entry fee and the purses will be based on the total number of entries.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them double dip,” Hopkins said. “They can play in the 40-plus and also the regular event and try to win that $5,000.”
The fields will also be boosted by an amateur division. The ams will be pre-flighted by official handicap and will be playing for Taylor Made golf equipment, including a set of irons for first place in each flight. The amateur events will be on Tuesdays and Wednesdays but any amateur in the top-10 overall will be invited to stay for the third day of play to shoot for the overall title, although the prizes will be based on the first two days only.

The tour is actively looking for sponsors and Clickitgolf.com will be associated with the amateur division.

“We’ve got some potential sponsors,” Hopkins said. “With an increased number of players and more exposure, that’s not too far away.

“We think we’re making all the right moves. We’ve launched a web site (www.AtlanticCoastGolfTour.com), we’re advertising nationally in Golfweek and advertising through the PGA section.”

Moore expects some of the players from Triangle Tours past to be among the regular players. Andy Crain of Goldsboro was the leading money winner a year ago and he is expected to play before joining the Golden Bear Tour in June.

Others include Karl Mitchell, Jimmy Flippen, Vance Heafner, Mark Stillwell, David Mathis, Will McKenzie and Chris Hockaday.

Tar Heel Tour

The Tar Heel Tour made great strides a year ago despite a late start.

“We averaged 35 players per event and all 11 events went off as scheduled,” said Paul Worthen, one of the Tour’s organizers.

Matt Cannon of Huntersville won five times in 2002 and picked up a total of $26,556.

A total of 125 different players (representing nine states and three overseas countries) participated in the events and 40 won more than $1,000. Eleven players made it past the first stage of PGA Q-School.

The Tar Heel Tour has expanded to 16 events this year and will kick off in June with the Charlotte National Open June 17-19. The Tour Championship, set for Nov. 17-20, caps the campaign.

More than 40 tour memberships have already been collected by the Tar Heel Tour. Each event is limited to 51 professionals. The winners’ share will be $4,500 this year.

Other Tours

The NGA/Hooters Tour kicks off its season March 5-9 at Lake Mary, Fla.

Salisbury’s Elliott Gealy, who finished sixth on the money list a year ago with $58,671, will be back for his third NGA Tour season. He was medalist in PGA Tour School first-stage qualifying last fall, but didn’t advance out of the second stage.

The NGA Tour is considered to be the third largest professional tour in the United States. Weekly winners take home more than $20,000 from weekly purses that usually offer at least $120,000.

Other tour members include Korky Kemp of Greensboro, Matt Cannon of Huntersville, Justin Duke of Pleasant Garden, James Johnson of West End, Ryan Peiffer of Winston-Salem, Richard Son of Smithfield, Robert Son of Durham and Ryan Gioffre of Greensboro.

The Golden Bear Tour, which plays events in and around Jacksonville, Fla., tees off June 4-6.

Greensboro’s Chris Mundorf, who won $25,915 and placed 26th on the 2002 money list, will be playing his second Golden Bear season.

Others include Kevin King of Pinehurst and ex-UNC-Greensboro player Jason Martin of Lenoir.