New PGA deal pleases Logan golfers
A select group of Logan golfing talents will putt their stuff on the greens in the Queensland PGA Associate Championship this week, on the back of exciting news that the event will call the City of Logan and Windaroo Lakes Golf Club home until 2027.
After 6 years of the event being held at Windaroo Lakes, a new 3-year extension deal was struck on the eve of the 2024 event, which began Sunday 20 October with a pro-am and culminates with a final round on Thursday 24 October.
Organisers expect more than 250 attendees, including players, spectators and industry officials from around the country.
The new deal is welcome news for a group of top local golfers – Yevin Samararatne, Tiger Boontang and Kai Oide from Mr Warren Park Golf Club, and Luke Bower and Anand McCullum from Meadowbrook Golf Club.
The group is all feeling in fine form for the competition and has the big names to inspire them, with past winners of the event including Greg Norman and Rod Pampling.
They are among 130 players who will tee off in Round 1 on Monday 21 October, with the winner crowned on Thursday 24 October.
Yevin Samararatne says it’s the event he’s been waiting for all year.
‘Being a local here at Windaroo Lakes will help a lot, as I used to be a member here, but at the end of the day you still have to execute golf shots and have confidence in your game,’ Yevin says.
‘This place can rip you to pieces if you let your guard down.’
Yevin says his game is ‘heading in the right direction’ for this tournament, and laughs when he reveals the secret weapon up his sleeve.
‘I’ve just got to get my mind, body and soul to come together for one week. I do have one special ingredient that no one else has this week, and that’s my mum’s spicy curries – hopefully that can get me though this week.’
Above: Windaroo Lakes Golf Club hosting the PGA Associate Championship in 2023.
The extension deal is a real coup for the region according to Windaroo Lakes Golf Club Manager Kevin Dilks.
‘We see great value in this event not just for our club, but the community,’ Kevin says.
‘This being our sixth straight year in hosting, it has become the big event of the year that our members get behind and make it a real spectacle for spectators and players alike.
‘To lock it in until 2027 and hopefully beyond is fantastic.’
The 2023 champion, Murwillumbah’s Riley Taylor, won’t be returning this year to defend the title, after completing the PGA’s Membership Pathway Program.
This leaves last year’s runner-up Jack Wright (Coolangatta-Tweed), with other quality players Damon Stephenson (Parkwood), Zach Ion (Virginia) and Dylan Knox (Indooroopilly) as stiff competition, along with West Australia’s Aaron Dobson, Hayden Gulliver of New South Wales, and Victoria’s Matthew Stenson, Joel Mitchell, Luke Porritt and Lachlan Robinson.
Spectators are invited to attend for free and follow groups of golfers around for the day.
Event details: 21 – 24 October, at Windaroo Lakes Golf Club, Anna Louise Terrace, Windaroo.
Monday and Tuesday: Tee times 7 am – 9 am from holes 1 and 10.
Wednesday: Tee times from 10:30 am from 1st tee only.
Thursday: Tee times 11:30 am – 12:30 pm from holes 1 and 10.
For more information visit Tournament – PGA of Australia | Official Golf News, Live Scores & Results.
Photo at top: From left, City of Logan golfers Anand McCullum, Tiger Boontang, Kai Oide, and Yevin Samararatne.
