Organizers are pleased to announce the creation of a new local golf series, the Moon Gate Tour. The brainchild of golf professionals Chaka DeSilva and Andrew Trott-Francis, the inaugural season is scheduled to start later this month with the first of seven 18-hole medal events and will conclude in September with a 36-hole Tour Championship.
Tour co-founder DeSilva said. “The Butterfield Bermuda Championship has had an incredible impact on golf in Bermuda since it was first played in 2019. There is so much excitement in and around the sport right now, and the Moon Gate Tour is simply a product of that positive energy.
“Following the most recent playing of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship this past October, Drew and I, together with several other local golfers, began discussing ways to provide more regular competitive opportunities for Bermuda’s professionals and low handicap amateurs.
“The Local Qualifier is without a doubt the most important event on our golf calendar because it gives Bermudians the chance to realize their dreams of playing in a PGA Tour event. Our aim is to help create more opportunities for locals to compete under tournament conditions in the lead up to the qualifier, with the ultimate goal of seeing the first Bermudian make the cut in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.”
After months of discussions and planning meetings, the Moon Gate Tour is now only weeks away from becoming a reality and hosting its first event.
DeSilva continued, “This first year is about proof of concept. We believe that there is both a need and a want for more competitive golf on island, and we’re hoping to see that borne out by full fields and low scores over the next few months. The Tour will alternate between the public golf courses – Port Royal and Ocean View – for its first season, with monthly events being played on Friday afternoons.
“All Moon Gate Tour events will be scratch competitions, or gross only. The maximum number of participants for each event will be 36, of which up to 18 can be professionals. The balance of the field will be comprised of amateur golfers with the lowest GHIN handicap indexes at the close of entries. There will be no handicap limit per se, but priority will go to those amateur entrants with the lowest indexes.
“The Rules of Amateur Status changed on January 1st of this year and now allow amateurs to accept prize money in scratch competitions, so that will certainly add a different element to the Tour. Our goal is to have the best players on island competing against each other month in, month out.
“We have representatives from the Bermuda Golf Association – the National Sport Governing Body – as well as the Bermuda Professional Golfers’ Association on our committee, so we are mindful of the fact that our Tour’s events must complement, not compete with, the current tournament schedules of both organizations.
“We are excited for the first medal of our season later this month and are optimistic that the Moon Gate Tour will get a good reception and be well supported by the local golfing community.”
The first event on the 2022 Moon Gate Tour is scheduled to be played at Port Royal Golf Course on Friday, February 25th with tee times starting at 11:30am. For more information, please visit @moongatetour on Instagram or send an email to moongatetour@gmail.com.
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