The 2014 bmag Week of Golf kicks off today at the Virginia Pro Am, with more than 80 professional golfers from around Australia vying for the 500,000 Frequent Flyer points on offer for the week long competition.

The 2014 bmag Week of Golf kicks off today at the Virginia Pro Am, with more than 80 professional golfers from around Australia vying for the 500,000 Frequent Flyer points on offer for the week long competition.

The bmag Week of Golf will be played over the next five days at the Virginia, Victoria Park, Indooroopilly, Wantima and Royal Queensland Golf Clubs and was developed after a similar concept from many years ago gave an extra incentive to the up-and-coming Australian professionals to further their careers.

The event provides the opportunity for professionals, to offset one of the major costs to break onto the bigger tours around the world which is travel. Even though other national and international tournament entry fees are quite low by comparison, the travel costs involved in getting to destinations such as Japan, the US or Europe for qualifying schools or tournaments are very high.

Unfortunately Kurt Carlson who won the inaugural bmag Week of Golf last year, will not be back to defend, and although Kurt will be missed, it opens the door for the other players competing this week. "This is certainly a big deal for many of the professionals competing this week, as the overall prize will assist the champion with their travel for the following 12 months on tour," said current Fiji International champion Steven Jeffress.

"500,000 Frequent Flyer points could certainly pave the way for the winner to attend any qualifying school around the world. From there they only need to play well to secure an international tour card and all of a sudden they have gone from playing Pro Am golf to the world stage. This could quite easily happen with the current crop of talent in Australia and the professional’s are certainly very thankful to bmag for their continued support of the bmag Week of Golf."

bmag has sponsored the grand prize of 500,000 Frequent Flyer points which has created significant interest around the country, and has resulted in a lift in field quality for all clubs involved. The bmag Week of Golf has been expanded to include Brisbane’s newest golf entertainment complex, Golf Central, who played host to the Hole in One Shootout yesterday, which saw Amateurs and Professionals line up side by side in the attempt to drive home the Subaru WRX on offer. Unfortunately the car didn’t go off, but the day was enjoyed by all that attended.

In addition to the grand prize of 500,000 Frequent Flyer points from bmag, the competition is also offering a second place prize of a $2000 voucher from Choice Hotels, the naming rights sponsor of the PGA Pro Am series.
For the amateurs who play in any Choice Hotels PGA Pro Am Series event throughout 2014, they will be eligible to win ‘The Golf Trip of a Lifetime’ to Mission Hills Golf Resort, China. Included in the prize will be return flights to Hong Kong, four nights accommodation, three rounds of golf and $1,000 in spending money.
The following Pro Ams, make up the 2014 bmag Week of Golf;

Virginia Golf Club Pro Am $15 000
Victoria Park Golf Course Pro Am $20 000
Indooroopilly Golf Club Pro Am $15 000
Wantima Golf Club Pro Am $15 000
Royal Queensland Cup Pro Am $40 000

This is an excellent opportunity to showcase both Brisbane as the perfect golf tournament location, while also supporting the future of Australian golf.