Club golfers get chance to play at British Masters

Bridgestone Chase Your Dream Trophy

A new partnership between Bridgestone Tyres and England Golf could see club golfers win a place in the British Masters Pro-Am thanks to a brand-new event held in 2017.

The Bridgestone Chase Your Dream Trophy will take place for the first time this year and is set to become an annual event open to members of England Golf’s 1900 affiliated clubs. It will feature separate individual competitions for men and women in order to discover the country’s top handicap golfers for the year.

The top nine men and nine women will initially qualify to play in the Bridgestone Challenge Pro-Am on the European Challenge Tour, competing for a team place in the Pro-Am at the British Masters. The most successful team will go on to play with a top tour-player at Close House Golf Club during the Pro-Am at The British Masters supported by Sky Sports on Wednesday 27^th September.

England Golf’s Chief Executive Nick Pink commented: “We are delighted to partner with Bridgestone and join their campaign to inspire new golfers and put existing players at the heart of the grassroots game.”

Rory Colville, Championship Director of the British Masters supported by Sky Sports, further endorsed the partnership, saying “This is a great opportunity for regular club golfers to graduate to mix with the leading lights of the Tour. We look forward to seeing England Golf’s qualifying players reaching the final stages at the Bridgestone Challenge and ultimately the British Masters, supported by Sky Sports at Close House Golf Club in Northumberland.

The Format

The Bridgestone Chase Your Dream Trophy will replace the women’s Grand Medal and the men’s Gold Medal competitions to give a greater focus on qualifying through club medals. Each year the club players who had the best medal scores of the previous season will qualify for regional finals, where the leaders will go forward to men’s and women’s national finals.

This year’s grande finale will take place in England Golf Week at Woodhall Spa in August, where the players will be the overnight guests of England Golf and be treated to the full championship experience. The individual winners will be England’s handicap golfers of the year and the top nine players of each final will play in the Pro-Am at the Bridgestone Challenge on 6 September.

Last season, England Golf and Bridgestone worked together to run the Driveguard Trophy for club golfers and made a dream come true for South West players Zack Rosen, Carl Broomfield and Peter Carr. The trio were victorious at the Bridgestone Challenge and went on to play alongside 2010 US Open winner Graeme McDowell at The Grove during last year’s British Masters supported by Sky Sports.

Zack Rosen said: “As a club golfer, you can only ever dream of the experiences that we’ve had, and that’s down to Bridgestone. To win the DriveGuard Trophy was special enough, but to play on some of the courses during the process was something to remember forever. And of course, the round of golf with Graeme McDowell was the icing on the cake.”

Click here for entry details for the men’s Chase Your Dream Trophy.
Click here for entry details for the women’s Chase Your Dream Trophy.