Greater Building Society to sponsor QLD PGA

BY iseekgolf.com | Von Nida Tour | 2005 Queensland PGA | General | 07 Sep 2005

The Greater Building Society is the new Naming Rights Sponsor of the 2005 Greater Building Society Queensland PGA Championship to be held at Emerald Lakes Golf Course from November 10-13.

Announcing the deal today, Assistant General Manager Don Magin said that the Greater was pleased to be able to support this great Queensland event, to be played at an outstanding Gold Coast golfing facility.

“It is great to be involved in ensuring the continued success of a tournament that is a tradition in both Queensland and Australian golf,” Mr Magin said.

“The Greater, which only recently began operating in South-East Queensland, has a long and proud history of supporting sport and the communities in which it operates.”

The Greater has been the major sponsor of one of Australia’s top amateur golf tournaments, the Greater Building Society International Amateur Tournament, for the past 10 years. It also provides sporting scholarships to potential Olympians through the Hunter Academy of Sport.

The Greater Building Society Queensland PGA Championship will bring a week of golfing activities at Emerald Lakes to a climax. Those activities will also include the Daikin Night Golf shootout which will be held on Monday night of the tournament week.

Mr Magin said that the Greater liked to give people a “leg up”, whether it is in achieving their dream of home ownership or their dream of a successful sporting career. The Von Nida Tour has proven to be such a leg up, providing some of Australia’s best young players and some of its future stars the chance to play tournament golf at a high level.

David White, General Manager for Marketing and Leisure Operations for residential development company Nifsan Pty Ltd, the owners of both Emerald Lakes and The Villa golfing facilities on the Gold Coast, expressed his delight at the Greater’s involvement in the tournament.

“We have built the event over the past two years to the level where it is now at and with the Greater taking the naming rights sponsorship, it offers the chance to continue the growth of the event,” Mr White said.

This is the third year that the Von Nida Tour has been held at the Emerald Lakes course. In 2003 Victorian David Diaz took out the title, while in 2004 it went to Kurt Barnes from the Hunter Valley in NSW. The event has grown in stature during that time and has been voted on each occasion by the players as the most popular Von Nida Tour event of the year.

This year Kurt Barnes will be back to defend the title he won by a shot over South Australian Gary Simpson in 2004 and 17-year-old Jason Day, who has taken Australian amateur golf by storm over the past twelve months, is also a confirmed entrant.

Gavin Kirkman, Senior Executive Officer of the Qld Division of PGA Australia, has welcomed the Greater Building Society to the 2005 Championship.

“The Qld PGA is committed to growing the game in all areas, not only for our own members but in particular for juniors and women and tournaments such as the Greater Building Society Queensland PGA Championship provide just that opportunity. The schedule of events for the week of the tournament will prove a great boost for golf in this region”.

The Emerald Lakes course is a focal point for the sensational $1 billion Master Planned Emerald Lakes Residential Development situated in the heart of the Gold Coast. The development will incorporate over 1600 quality homes, a 37 hectare lake, 11klm’s of walking and bike tracks. Also planned are sport and recreational facilities, eco-friendly wetlands as well as a commercial centre that includes restaurants, retail outlets and much more.

The Greater prides itself on its customer service and, against the trend, is continuing to open more branches. It opened its first Gold Coast branches at Robina in November 2003 and Burleigh Heads in February this year. Two additional branches will open at Nerang River Plaza and Westfield Helensvale later in the year.

“We will be opening more branches so that more Queenslanders can enjoy value for money home loans, low fees and great rewards like holidays and petrol discounts,” Mr Magin said.

The Greater Building Society was established in Newcastle, NSW, in 1945 and is currently celebrating 60 years of service to its members. It has 62 branches across NSW and South-east Queensland. The Greater is one of Australia’s largest building societies and is one of the top 500 private companies in Australia.

Source – PGA Australia