PGA TOUR Latinoamérica has held its season-ending event in South Florida for the past two years and that will continue to be the case as it is announced that Trump National Doral’s Golden Palm course will host the Latinoamérica Tour Championship-Shell Championship, a limited-field event that will feature the top-60 of the Order of Merit. The tournament that closes the 2018 season will be played from November 29 to December 2.
The move to Doral, Florida, keeps the event in this part of the state, which will allow ties to be maintained with the First Tee of Miami as its charity and sponsor.
“We are thrilled to be able to continue playing the Latin America Tour Championship-Shell Championship in South Florida. Doral is a tremendous community that we know will open its arms to our players and this tournament,” said Jack Warfield, president of PGA TOUR Latinoamérica. “It’s exciting to go to a site as recognized and challenging as Trump® National Doral’s Golden Palm field. With everything at stake during the final week of the season, with players battling it out for position on the Order of Merit, the Golden Palm will be a great place for us to enjoy a dramatic finale.”
The South Florida Golf Foundation (SFGF) will be the partner of PGA TOUR Latinoamérica in the operation of this championship, for which players in the top 60 of the Order of Merit will be invited after the 113th VISA Open of Argentina presented by Macro, an event that will conclude on November 18. The SFGA will also provide support in the area of sponsorships. This entity is not unknown to the PGA TOUR, having served as a host partner for many years when the PGA TOUR made its annual visit to Doral for official tour events for more than four decades, beginning in 1962.
“The South Florida Golf Foundation is very excited to partner with the TOUR again through the Latin America TOUR Championship-Shell Championship. It will be great to return to our home, Trump® National Doral, the home of golf in South Florida,” said JR Steinbauer, president of the SFGF.
“We look forward to welcoming the best talent from PGA TOUR Latinoamérica to Trump® National Doral when they face Golden Palm for their season-finale event. The golf course is in impeccable condition and ready to challenge many of the best players in the world. As for the experience for spectators, there is nothing like the hospitality of the famous Trump Doral,” said Eric Trump, executive vice president of The Trump Organization.
This final event of the Tour, for a limited field, was created in 2015, when its inaugural edition was played at the TPC Dorado Beach Resort in Dorado, Puerto Rico. The last two years he moved to Melreese Country Club – International Golf Links in Miami. The tournament is expected to play a decisive role in defining which players will finish in the top 5 of the Order of Merit to earn Web.com Tour membership in 2019.
“On behalf of Sunshine Gasoline Distributors and Shell, I am pleased that we have been able to extend our relationship with the PGA TOUR and First Tee Miami Dade to celebrate a new edition of the Latin America Tour Championship-Shell Championship,” said Max Alvarez. “Being able to keep this event in South Florida is very important to all of us and we look forward to a new champion at Trump® National Doral.”
“We are thrilled that PGA TOUR Latinoamérica has decided to keep the Latinoamérica Tour Championship-Shell Championship in South Florida. We are proud to have partnered with PGA TOUR Latinoamérica in 2016 to bring the Latinoamérica Tour Championship-Shell Championship to Miami and we are happy that the First Tee of Miami continue to support and be a beneficiary of the Shell Championship at Trump® National Doral,” said Charlie DeLucca of First Tee of Miami.
The Golden Palm course, opened under its original design in 1967, underwent a complete renovation by renowned architect Gil Hanse, who designed the Olympic Golf Course in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. That Olympic Course hosted the golf competition at the 2016 Olympic Games and the Aberto do Brasil in 2016 and 2017, the latter within the official PGA TOUR Latinoamérica calendar in those seasons.
Hanse’s redesign included design elements similar to those of the Blue Monster, giving it open views and bunkers of a unique style. The par-72 course slightly exceeds 7,000 yards in length and was reopened in 2015. The Golden Palm hosted the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament in 1999, an event won by Blaine McCallister. For more than 50 years, the PGA TOUR had an annual stop at Doral, with all events played on the famed Blue Monster, sister court of the Golden Palm.
Source: https://golfdigest.com.ar/pga-la-doral-final/