National tournament series become more attractive
29.06.2020

Board member Gianluca Patuzzo is responsible for the "Member Support Tournaments" area within the Swiss PGA. He maintains contact with the professionals of the Swiss PGA and, in Swiss PGA events, is the interface between the club on whose premises the tournament is played and the Swiss PGA as organizer. Communication is important, says Patuzzo. Not only communication between players, organisers and club managers, but also communication with the fans. "Since last year, we've been using the Golf Genius app for live scoring at Swiss PGA events; this way, players, club members and fans at home can follow the event from the first tee to the last putt," Patuzzo explains.

Creating Starting Opportunities in Switzerland

This year Patuzzo will organize four Swiss-PGA Tour events (36-hole tournament over two days plus ProAm). In addition, there will be the Swiss PGA Championship, which will run over 54 holes (3 days) and to which a ProAm is also affiliated. "The Team Championship, our traditional season opener, had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic," Patuzzo explains.

Unfortunately, some of the starting opportunities for Swiss playing professionals at international events in Switzerland have also fallen victim to the virus: The Omega European Masters (European Tour) as well as the Swiss Challenge (Challenge Tour) and the Swiss Seniors Open (Staysure Tour) were cancelled due to Covid-19. "Currently, two LETAS tournaments have been confirmed in Switzerland and I hope that the new LET tournament can also be played in Holzhäusern," says Patuzzo.

He is grateful that the cooperation with the umbrella organisation Swiss Golf is working well and that four Swiss Golf tournaments lasting several days are now open to Swiss PGA members - the Omnium and three regional championships - as is the Mémorial Olivier Barras.

Swiss PGA is new partner of the Pro Series

Since 2016, Swiss PGA member Gavin Healey has been organising one-day tournaments for professionals under the title "Pro Series Golf". The Swiss PGA has been a partner since this year. "This means that the best two results of each Swiss PGA member count towards the Order of Merit 2020," explains Patuzzo.

Gavin Healey is also pleased about the new partnership. "The vision of the Pro Series is to create opportunities for the over 300 members of the Swiss PGA to play tournaments in Switzerland. Competition golf is an important aspect of our profession," says Healey. His offer has met with open ears from the very beginning, and the "Pro Series" has grown rapidly. "At our first tournament in May 2016, only ten players took part, after which the number of participants increased rapidly. In 2019, we had an average of 30 participants, at the first tournament this year there were 50 players at the start and for the second tournament the same number of players are registered," explains Healey.

"If all Swiss-PGA members want to play tournaments regularly, we will definitely need more events". The majority of the participants are teaching professionals, but since the international tours have been inactive up to now, some of the playing professionals are likely to appear at "Pro Series" events this year. "Everyone is welcome. We play on Mondays because we can offer the tour professionals an additional opportunity to start," says Healey.

The "Pro Series" calendar 2020 included nine events, each with prize money of 5000 Swiss francs. The two spring tournaments in Valais (Sion in April, Sierre in May) fell victim to the lockdown. However, Healey is confident that the "Pro Series" will continue to grow. The attendance figures speak for themselves, "and our partners are interested in supporting this tournament series in the long term. Golf and golfers are important ambassadors for them," says Healey.

Swiss Golf Tour Summer 2020 for members of the Swiss Golf Team

The lockdown and the long tournament break on the international tours has prompted Swiss Golf to create opportunities for members of the "Swiss Golf Team" to play competitive golf at home. Thus Swiss Golf is organising a small series of one-day invitational tournaments. The "Swiss Golf Tour Summer 2020" will be hosted by eight clubs, the number of participants being limited to 28 players. Since a maximum of 13 pros can participate (and these are by invitation only), these tournaments do not count towards the Order of Merit of the Swiss PGA. "But it is an excellent opportunity for our team members to get used to the competition mode again," says Barbara Albisetti, Head of Sport at Swiss Golf.

In addition to the Swiss Golf Tour Summer 2020, the association will also organize four ProAms, where the members of the Swiss Golf Team will compete. These events were fully booked in record time. "I am impressed by how well these ProAms are being received. It seems that many golfers want to support the young pros," says Albisetti happily. The association will consider holding these "Swiss Golf Team ProAms" in the coming years as well. "Hopefully, however, we will no longer need the Swiss Golf Tour Summer 2020 in 2021," said Albisetti. She does hope that the Swiss pros will then be back on international level.