After a one-year hiatus, the PGA Tour China Series will resume in '18 under a four-year agreement between the PGA Tour and the China Golf Association "in which the prize money and number of tournaments will increase," according to the AP. CGA President Zhang Xiaoning said, "These will be brand new tournaments, providing players with more opportunity to participate, as well as to establish a route for China golfers to get through and into the world stage of golf. The development of golf tournaments here is not only helping the tour itself, but also to help China develop better and more professional golfers and to raise the interest of our citizens to the sport of golf." The announcement on Wednesday was made at the HSBC Champions, "the only World Golf Championships event in Asia." PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said that the tournaments in '18 will have a minimum purse of 1.5M yuan ($226,000), an increase from '16 (AP, 10/25). REUTERS' Amlan Chakraborty reported the tour "runs similar series in Latin America and Canada, rewarding top players with a passage" to the PGA Tour through the Web.com Tour. PGA Tour Greater China Managing Dir Greg Gilligan said, "We are very happy to again operate in 2018 and beyond" (REUTERS, 10/25).
SAVE THE DATE: The PGA Tour Latinoamérica announced its four '18 qualifying tournaments. The four sites will be the Mission Inn Resort and Club in Howie-In-The-Hills, Fla. (Jan. 9-12); Estrella del Mar Golf & Beach Resort in Mazatlán, Mexico (Jan. 16-19); Los Lagartos in Bogotá, Colombia (Jan. 23-26); and Pilará Golf Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina (Jan. 30-Feb. 2) (PGA Tour Latinoamérica).
