Wagga Wagga Country Club secretary manager John Turner, club professional Tegan Purcell, Dr Joe McGirr and Wagga Mayor Dallas Tout are overjoyed at the announcement of the Wagga Country Club hosting the NSW Open Qualifier in November. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
The Wagga Wagga Country Club has been chosen to host the Golf NSW Open Regional Qualifier event for the next three years.
The club was one of six regional locations across the state chosen as a venue to host the three-day qualifier event.
The 2023 iteration, taking place in November, will see both pro and amateur competitors take part, with the winner of the pro tournament being granted a start in the NSW Open in 2024.
The first two days of the event will see professional and amateur golfers take to the greens, but all eyes will be on the Wagga course on day three as the pro round of the tournament will be live-streamed across the nation on Kayo.
Wagga Wagga Country Club secretary manager John Turner said the club was excited to be hosting a premier event and hoped the tournament would continue to shine a light on Wagga’s proud sporting community.
“We have a very passionate membership here at the Country Club,” he said.
“We have the women’s program and the men’s program. So we’re proven performers when big events and pros come here.
“We want to be recognised, we want to showcase the brilliant facilities we have here and I think we’ve been given the opportunity through Golf NSW to do that.”
Mr Turner said the club had been a proven performer when it came to hosting big events and with the club’s recent investments, the club would only be better come the November start date.
“The club’s just recently invested $1.4 million in our irrigation system to keep on improving the course,” he said.
“The club and the board want to keep on reinvesting in the clubhouse and the golf course so we can keep on improving what and who the facility attracts.”
Member for Wagga Wagga Dr Joe McGirr said the club should be congratulated for its conditioning and maintenance, which have led to it securing the event.
“The last few years John Turner and the club have been on me and we’ve been lobbying to secure this event,” Dr McGirr said.
“To have the announcement here today, it’s an outstanding result.”
Dr McGirr said he believed televising regional events, like the qualifier, would only continue the appeal of bringing events to rural locations.
“I think after COVID people have realised that one of the great treasures of this country is our regional locations,” he said.
“The more television, the more coverage, the more people see what a wonderful place it is, the more people will come here.”
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