For Immediate Release May 12, 2015
The 2016 Western Golf Alliance Open headed to the capitol of desert golf
Scottsdale, Arizona to host the biennial event
BOTHELL, Washington. Today, the Western Golf Alliance announced that the Scottsdale, Arizona area will host the 2016 Western Golf Alliance Open. For the most recent selection process, the Western Golf Alliance narrowed the applicants down to a final three locations, then solicited broad member input for the final selection.
"Scottsdale is the preeminent desert golf destination in the world," said Brian Gray, WGA president. "We are thrilled to be able to take our event to this location, for a unique test of our golfing prowess."
Besides Scottsdale, the other two finalists were the San Diego CA area, and the Whistler BC area. This is the first time the Western Golf Alliance Open has considered a destination outside of the United States as a finalist.
"Once a reasonable proposal from the Scottsdale area came to the table, there weren't a lot of locations that could put together a better golf event package," added Peter McGarry, WGA competition committee chairman. "That reasonable proposal included an alteration to the schedule to accomodate summer weather conditions."
The schedule alternation involves moving the Open out of its traditional early August time window. Instead, the 2016 WGA Open will be moved up three months and held in mid May.
The Western Golf Alliance is known for holding its Open on elite, famous courses that represent the very best golf in the western United States. While the WGA does not make a final determination on which courses will be used for the Open at the same time it announces the destination, the competition committee will immediately begin working with the We-Ko-Pa Resort for possible lodging, as well as hosting two or three rounds on their world class courses (both ranked in the top 50 public courses in the U.S. by Golf magazine). Other local courses - such as the TPC Scottsdale - may fill out the full 72 hole lineup.
"This is the first time we have had the chance to take our Open to Arizona, and we expect an exceptional desert golf experience," said Gray. "We could not be more pleased with the results of our decision process."
The WGA expects the announcement of the Scottsdale area to spur interest in membership, and is prepared for such inquiries. All probationary members that join between now and February 2016 are eligible to enter the Western Golf Alliance Open and participate in regional qualifying.
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About the Western Golf Alliance: The Western Golf Alliance is the premier golf organization in the United States. The WGA exists to further the greatness of this grand sport of golf through the improvement of golf play by its members, the promotion of golf rules, etiquette, and tradition, and the ability to gather together from time to time for golf events and tournaments. The regional organization spans five western states, and is organized into nine geographic regions. Further information is available at www.westerngolf.org.
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