PGA host negotiations on-going
The Manawatu Golf Club remains in negotiations over the hosting of the New Zealand PGA Championship for 2018.
General manager Warren Collett confirmed they were still working with the PGA over the future hosting rights of the tournament, despite reports the club has turned down an invitation to do so.
An article on the Manawatuwanganui Golf website said the tournament, which is the second largest on the New Zealand golfing calender and is also part of the Australasian PGA Tour, would not be back.
‘‘The Manawatu Golf Club have announced that they will not be hosting the 2018 NZPGA Championship. While the 2017 event was a great spectacle, and a rare opportunity to watch such a quality professional field in our district, the club cannot continue to fund the championship without further support from the NZ PGA,’’ the association wrote.
And a report from chairman Peter Mcredmond in the club’s August newsletter also suggested the club would not host the tournament again.
‘‘With regard to the NZ PGA the committee has decided not to accept the invitation to host next year’s NZ PGA,’’ Mcredmond wrote in the newsletter. ‘‘Hosting such an event requires a huge commitment financially and manpower-wise and it was felt that we were better positioned to host a smaller event as we have done in the past.’’
But Collett said the club was still working through the process with the New Zealand PGA and a final decision was yet to be made.
‘‘We are still in negotiations with them [the New Zealand PGA] and we are hoping to have it all sorted by the end of the week,’’ he said.
The Manawatu Standard understands that if Manawatu were to turn down hosting the tournament, there was not another host in the mix at this stage.
Manawatu hosted the tournament this year for the fifth time in the club’s history following on from 1957, 1922, 1930 and 1946.
It appeared to run smoothly and it got good reviews from players as they came off the course.
It coincided with one of the region’s sunniest periods this year.
Australian Jarryd Felton claimed the title after a three-way shootout with compatriot Josh Younger and Kiwi Ben Campbell in front of a large gallery.
Once the tournament wrapped up, Mcredmond signalled they would welcome the tournament back. ‘‘We are certainly hopeful to get it again next year,’’ he said at the time.
But there is a big financial burdon in hosting the tournament, none less than sourcing the tournament’s $125,000 prize pool.
The Manawatu Golf Club was aided by sponsors Lawnmaster and Horizon Golf along with the Palmerston North City Council to get it across the line this year.
If Manawatu do not host the PGA Championship, they would likely return to hosting a Charles Tour event like they have in the past.