Developer secures future of Queensland Open
BY iseekgolf.com | Von Nida Tour | 2003 Queensland Open | General | 08 Sep 2003
A $40,000 sponsorship deal from land developer The QLD Group has guaranteed the playing future of the Queensland Open Golf Championship for 2003 and its inclusion on the Von Nida Tour.
The QLD Group Queensland Open will be played at Ipswich Golf Club from October 30 to November 2, with prize money of $100,000 and PGA Tour of Australasia ranking points.
The sponsorship is one of the biggest single monetary contributions in the history of the Open and includes options for the company to continue with the event in the future.
The QLD Group, which has been established less than two years, has already achieved business success with the sell-out of its first development, “Kooya Grove” in suburban Mitchelton and the first stage of its flagship property, Collingwood Park in Ipswich’s eastern suburbs.
Chief Executive Officer and founder George Cheihk said it was his company’s first involvement in golf and it was chosen because of the championship’s historic links with Queensland.
“We are delighted to be associated with the Queensland Golf Union, the PGA of Australasia, the Ipswich City Council and Queensland Times in the staging of this year’s championship,” Mr Cheihk said.
The company expects to achieve sales of $65 million in the next 12 months and more than $500 million at Collingwood Park over the next five years.
The QLD Group (full name Queensland Land Developments Group Pty Ltd) will have naming rights for the Open and will play a major role in helping to promote the event over the next two months.
Event organisers are now waiting for confirmation that last year’s winner Andrew Buckle will be returning to Australia to defend the title he won only days after turning professional.
Buckle has spent the past year in Europe and the USA, seeking a Tour card by playing the minor circuits. He missed qualifying for a start in the British Open by only two shots.
Buckle has sent a message to Ipswich Golf Club saying he is keen to play in the Open again this year but it will depend on taking up any opportunities in the closing weeks of the northern summer which could earn him a Player’s Card for next year.
