FSGA acquires Florida Open for 2009
The Florida State Golf Association is proud to announce the acquisition of the Florida Open. The FSGA will begin conducting the Florida Open beginning in 2009. There will not be a Florida Open Championship this year.
The FSGA has acquired the Florida Open in an effort to restore the event to its former status as the State’s premier Championship for professionals and amateurs. The FSGA will work very closely with the PGA Sections and the PGA members of Florida to develop a first-class championship. The field will predominately include Florida Section Professionals, amateurs and some non-affiliated professionals.
The FSGA and the PGA Sections will not financially benefit from the conduct of the event and all proceeds from entry fees and sponsorships will go towards the purse, the direct cost of conducting the Championship and any designated charities. The long term goal is to have the qualifying fees as low as possible to encourage widespread participation. The purse will be structured to pay the field as deeply as possible.
The Florida Open has a rich history that dates back to 1942 with Lou Broward winning the first championship. Considered the premier State Open Championship, the Florida Open has been a launching pad for many great players including Bob Murphy (1967), Gary Koch (1969), Bruce Fleisher (1980, 1987) and Bart Bryant (1988, 1994).
Thus far the purse has been tentatively set at $100,000, with the course yet to be determined.
More than 1,000 golfers with sub-5 indexes are expected to try to qualify in late September of 2009, with courses TBD.