Strongsville native, Cleveland Am champ, and National PGA Assistants Champion Jake Scott will launch a brand new professional golf tour for Northeast Ohio starting in 2017, appropriately named The Buckeye Tour.
Jake has some significant backing in the venture, too, as his co-founder for the Buckeye Tour is North Carolina GPRO Tour owner Gary Haugh, a recognizable name in the pro golf tour business.
There will be 12 events on the 2017 Buckeye Tour schedule, each contested over 36-holes at a different championship golf course in Northern Ohio.
The intent is to provide a place for new and aspiring professional golfers to compete in multi-round tournaments, to hone and develop their skills.
“We’re looking to create events that maximize the value of a player’s entry fee, as well as play at some quality venues,” said Scott.
Scheduled courses include Avalon Lakes, The Quarry, Oberlin CC, Grey Hawk, Sleepy Hollow, Brookledge, Shale Creek, Manakiki, Elyria CC, Fowler’s Mill and Zoar.
Each of the Buckeye Tour’s 12 events will be played on a Wednesday and Thursday, with Tuesday as a practice round day. This setup will allow players to participate in Monday qualifiers on the PGA Tour and still play in the Buckeye Tour events.
Entry fees collected for each event will have a minimum prize money payback of 82% while still playing at top-level golf courses and being affordable.
“We aim to be as transparent as possible about where our players’ money is going, and how it is paid out in purses,” Scott made clear.
These events will focus on professional golfers, not amateur players. If an amateur wishes to register, there is no gift certificate prize to be won regardless of finish; it is for the tournament experience only. A maximum of three amateurs per event will ever be accepted for entry.
A membership fee of $299 will be charged for the season, but players can enter any event as a non-member. Class A PGA Members and Level 1 Apprentices may enter Buckeye Tour events at the member rate, too, as can Canada’s Great Lakes Tour members.
A PGA Tour LatinoAmerica Q-School exemption is available to the Buckeye Tour Order of Merit winner, who must be a member.
Each 2-day event will cost a member $565 in advance, while non-members can enter for $640 per event in advance.
As a payout example, if an event draws 55 players the first place prize would be $4,500 and 18 places would earn a check of at least $600.
For complete details on The Buckeye Tour, its membership and event policies, and its 2017 schedule, see TheBuckeyeTour.com.
