Bermuda Championship Set to Debut on PGA TOUR Next Season
The PGA TOUR is adding the island of Bermuda to its 2019-20 schedule with the newly announced Bermuda Championship, to be played the same week as the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions.
Officials from the Bermuda Tourism Authority, the official destination marketing organization for the island, and the PGA TOUR announced the tournament during a press conference today at Port Royal Golf Course in Bermuda.
With competition scheduled for October 31-November 3, 2019, the Bermuda Championship represents the PGA TOUR’s first official annual event on the island. Bermuda Tourism Authority has signed a five-year agreement, through 2023, as the title sponsor. The tournament, with an anticipated field of 120 professionals, will carry a purse of $3 million and offer 300 FedExCup points to the champion.
“We are excited to add the Bermuda Championship to the PGA TOUR beginning next season,” said Ty Votaw, Executive Vice President, International for the PGA TOUR. “Bermuda is an appealing year-round destination, and the players will love visiting in the fall, plus we will be hosted by an outstanding golf course. It promises to be a wonderful opportunity to showcase Bermuda - a beautiful island destination that embodies genuine hospitality - to the world.”
“The Bermuda Tourism Authority is thrilled to have secured this pinnacle event in golf for Bermuda’s tourism industry and community,” said Kevin Dallas, CEO of the Bermuda Tourism Authority. “We’ve had our sights set on a PGA TOUR partnership because of the significant economic benefit the event itself will generate for Bermuda’s economy as well as the worldwide exposure to their audience that perfectly aligns with Bermuda’s visitor targets.”
Players, families, fans and viewers will get to see why Bermuda has been recognized as “Best Island in the Atlantic & Caribbean” by Condé Nast Traveler. Specific benefits of the partnership include:
· Bermuda’s beauty will be the backdrop during the four days of coverage on the Golf Channel (Thursday to Sunday) in the United States. The Bermuda Championship will also receive coverage throughout the world due to the TOUR’s international broadcast agreements in 226 countries and territories.
· Television advertising on the Golf Channel and content integration during and outside of the event will be used to invite viewers to travel to the island to experience Bermuda first-hand.
· Digital, social media, public relations, and onsite branding will further spread the Bermuda brand story.
The Honorable Zane DeSilva, Minister of Tourism and Transport shared, “We are excited to welcome the PGA TOUR and its professional golfers to Bermuda. While Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, designed by Robert Trent Jones and opened in 1970, will serve as the host course – all of Bermuda will be ready to extend our legendary hospitality to players, families and visitors alike. Port Royal hosted the Grand Slam – a specialty event for the year’s major championship winners – from 2009 until its final year, 2014.”
About Bermuda
Out here is closer than you think. Located in the Atlantic Ocean off North Carolina’s coast, the island of Bermuda is just a two-hour nonstop flight from most eastern U.S. airports. Attracting adventure seekers, explorers, romantic and originals, Bermuda is where people, cultures and an alluring mystique swirl together, connecting visitors to a place far from everyday life. The island’s legendary pink-sand beaches, frozen in time historic towns and pastel-colored buildings stand out at first. But it’s Bermuda’s original, ever evolving take on island life that brings travelers out here again and again. The Bermuda experience is elegant, relaxed and genuinely warm, celebrating cultures, reveling in nature and staying open to whatever is around the bend. Recently, the 35th America’s Cup, held in Bermuda May and June of 2017, brought a fresh energy to the destination with new and redeveloped hotels, must-visit attractions and restaurants adding to the island spirt. Visit www.gotobermuda.com, www.facebook.com/bermudatourism, and www.twitter.com/bermuda.
About PGA TOUR
By showcasing golf’s greatest players, the PGA TOUR engages, inspires and positively impacts our fans, partners and communities worldwide. The PGA TOUR co-sanctions more than 130 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Web.com Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Series-China. Members on the PGA TOUR represent the world’s best players, hailing from 26 countries (90 members are from outside the United States). Worldwide, PGA TOUR tournaments are broadcast to 226 countries and territories in 23 languages. Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations to maximize charitable giving. In 2018, tournaments across all Tours generated a record $190 million for local and national charitable organizations, bringing the all-time total to $2.84 billion. The PGA TOUR’s web site is PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, and the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
