Date: March 22, 2019
Author: PGA of Australia

PGA moves to end Aussie season

The 2019 Australian PGA Championship has shifted dates.

The time-honoured tournament will now be played from 19-22 December at RACV Royal Pines Resort in Queensland after originally being slated three weeks earlier.

Since it moved to the Gold Coast, the Australian PGA Championship has established itself as a festival of golf with a celebratory atmosphere aided by its scheduling as the last event of the year.

After discussions with key stakeholders including co-sanctioning partner, the European Tour, the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia decided to maintain that season-ending position.

"The Australian PGA Championship … will top off a huge three weeks of golf in Australia when it follows the Emirates Australian Open and the Presidents Cup," said Gavin Kirkman, CEO of the PGA of Australia.

"The Australian PGA Championship has been embraced by the players and sports fans for its fun atmosphere and we feel that it is important for it to be the final tournament of the year for us to deliver that experience expectation."

The week will begin with the Greg Norman Medal dinner on the Tuesday night when the highest achievers in the Australian golf industry are heralded for their accomplishments.

The fun continues with the MyGolf Kids Day.

"We have seen some thrilling conclusions to the Australian PGA Championship and the Order of Merit in recent years and feel that the atmosphere created on the Gold Coast is the perfect setting for them to be celebrated," Kirkman said.

"This was one of the motivating factors in the change of date."