The second season of the Standard Bank Pro-Am series commences
Pro-Am Series will be played at Glendower Golf Club
The Standard Bank Pro-Am Series is set to be underway at Glendower Golf club on May 17 for its second season.
Along with an increase in prize money, the series will venture into other provinces for the first time, allowing a greater reach and awareness of the sport.
“A big thank you goes to Standard Bank for their support of women’s golf,” said the founder of the Standard Bank Pro-Am series and golf development programme, Jenny Havenga, “They have contributed over R6-million for prize money and development of the series. This has enabled us to strengthen the series year after year.
“We will play tournaments from May to December, starting at Glendower Golf Club in Johannesburg on May 17 and our finale, the Pro-Am Invitational, will be played at Randpark later in the year.
The inaugural series was played at venues across Gauteng and this year we are venturing to the Eastern Cape, Kwa Zulu Natal, North West and the Western Cape. We aim to grow this series so that it can be accessible to women across the country and hopefully as we grow, take it to parts of the continent as well.”
Following the season-opener at Glendower, the series moves to the Atlantic Beach Links in the Western Cape before returning to Gauteng at Serengeti for the third event. The next up will be Sun City’s Lost City Golf Club in the North West before St Francis Links also makes its debut on this eight-month series. The fifth tournament will be played at Houghton in Johannesburg and then Mount Edgecombe Golf Club in KwaZulu-Natal will be the next venue.
The grand finale, the Standard Bank Pro-Am Invitational, will return to Randpark Golf Club for the second season running to wrap up the year.
“At Standard Bank, we believe that growth in women’s golf has evolved tremendously and it showcases some of the highest talents on offer in South Africa. This is a sport where commitment, perseverance and the right opportunities matter more than who is stronger or faster. We understand that it should be about the quality of the golf. That is why we are backing South African women’s golf and giving them more platforms to succeed because we believe that: ‘Great golf, is great golf’ regardless of who is playing,” comments Schalk Kotze, Head of Affluent Clients at Standard Bank.”
All the events, except for the Sun City and the Pro-Am Invitational tournaments, will carry prize money of R600 000 while the winner of the Order of Merit will walk away with R500 000. The Pro-Am Invitational has a purse of R750 000 to sweeten things up for the professionals.
Initiated by Lifestyle Golf, of which Havenga is a founder and director, and in collaboration with the Women’s Professional Golf Association (WPGA), the series, which is now in its second year, is aimed at growing women’s golf on all levels and creating opportunities for them to play professionally throughout the year, which will enable them to hone their skills further.
