Peter Tarver-Jones Wins 2016 PGA Europro Tour Championship at Desert Springs Resort

 

The Desert Springs Resort, Europe’s only international award-winning luxury family resort and championship desert golf course in the Almeria region of Andalucía, south-east Spain, was host to this years season-ending Tour Championship of the PGA EuroPro Tour between Wednesday 19th- Friday 21st October 2016.

Peter Tarver-Jones won the Matchroom Sport Tour Championship by sudden-death play-off to seal an immediate return to the Challenge Tour.

The Worthing Golf Club pro shot a course record 63, nine under par, to join Richard James (Aberdovey Golf Club; 68, 70, 65) on -13 at the end of the final tournament of the HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour season at Desert Springs Resort.

Peter Tarver-Jones (70, 70, 63) nailed his approach on the first additional hole to within four feet and held his nerve to take the title, and a £20,000 winner’s cheque, which propelled him to second on the Race To Desert Springs Order of Merit.

With the season now complete, the top five on the tour standings earn a category on next year’s Challenge Tour. Matthew Cort (Beedles Lake Golf Club; 70, 66, 69) was among four players tied third on -11 and consolidated his long-standing place at the top of the money list.

Curtis Griffiths (Wentworth) takes third on the rankings with James fourth and Mark Laskey (Brocket Hall/Team Honma) completing the top five, while James also won the Rookie of the Year trophy after collecting a runners-up cheque for £10,000.

For Tarver-Jones, there was only delight. Two years ago he sealed promotion to the Challenge Tour via the EuroPro Tour Order of Merit but returned this summer after a disappointing 2015. But he was able to win when it mattered and closed out the season by earning an immediate return to Europe’s second tier.

 

Shortly after making the winning putt Tarver-Jones said;

“My heart is pounding, I feel good, it was great fun today and in the play-off I just tried to have some fun. I hit a great second shot and had a good putt. I was aggressive today; I had no option but to be. I had played really well in the second round but didn’t hole anything whereas today I holed a few putts. I was quite a way ahead of the leaders so they had quite a few holes left but at 15 I saw the leaderboard and knew I was tied with Joe Dean for the lead. I was disappointed with last year on the Challenge Tour but I learnt so much, so to get the opportunity to do it again, I am really excited for it. Qualifying School is coming up as well so, who knows, if I can ride the momentum I may be able to get onto the European Tour.”

 

Dean (Hillsborough Golf Club) had started the final round with a three-shot lead at -12 and remained at the top of the leaderboard for much of the day. However, despite making the turn at -13 a mixed back nine of three birdies, three bogeys and a double after going out of bounds on the 15th saw his lead evaporate, and with it his chances of promotion. He joined Cort, Ashley Chesters (Hawkstone Park) and Andrew Marshall (Bawburgh Golf Club) in the four-way tie for third.

Highlights of the Matchroom Sport Tour Championship will air on Sky Sports on Tuesday, 1st November and a season review will be broadcast over the Christmas period.

 

 

NOTE TO EDITORS

 

About Desert Springs Resort

Opened in 2001, Desert Springs Resort quickly established an international reputation for outstanding quality, attracting discerning golfers, international elite amateur teams and professionals, as well as major international events, including two Spanish Amateur Opens and most latterly the 2015 & 2016 PGA Europro Tour Championships.

Resort accommodation is provided in the apartments, townhouses and villas available for holidays and short breaks at Desert Springs Resort. Meals are served in the resort’s Croc Restaurant, part of the family-friendly Crocodile Club that is geared up for a wide variety of leisure activities and the award-winning El Torrente Restaurant at the Club House.

Visiting golfers benefit from resort gated security and full management and services that ensure all aspects of a golfer’s stay are taken care of. These include airport transfers, food hamper deliveries, babysitting and both resort and off-resort restaurant reservations.

Desert Springs Resort is easy to reach from all parts of the UK and Europe, thanks to three international airports: Almeria Airport, 40 minutes transfer; Murcia Airport, 80 minutes transfer, and Alicante Airport 1hr 50 minutes transfer.

Already well known as a resort specialising in golf and family holidays, Desert Springs Resort is gaining popularity as a centre for warm-weather training for cricketers and footballers.

For more information on Desert Springs Resort: www.almanzora .com Tel: +34 950 091 518

Facilities already completed and in use at Desert Springs include:

• a par 72 -18-hole USGA Indiana golf course designed by former Great Britain and Ireland Golf Team Captain Peter McEvoy who was inspired by the desert courses of Arizona and California;
• a golf academy whose PGA qualified teaching professionals cater for several international teams, for the women’s elite squads of the Golf Union of Wales and for many of the English County Union’s elite squads; PGA European Tour and LET players.
• two hard tennis courts, two paddle courts, beach volley ball and two football pitches – one is a full-size grass pitch; the other is designed for five-a-side games;
• a Cricket Academy with facilities that comprise; twenty-four (24) grass wickets and run up with nets, one artificial wicket with nets, a full length artificial grass wicket, a Professional Bola Bowling Machine with 28 ball feeder, a slip catch cradle and a specific hard standing area, which provides outside space for facilities such as a free weights gym, stretching mats and a medical area
• a Spanish colonial style Golf Club House with a lounge, bar, restaurant, locker rooms, TV and reading rooms, and a Ralph Lauren Golf Boutique;
• The Crocodile Club which provides family fun at the heart of the resort with pools, equipped sand play areas, a kid’s battery powered John Deere Gator circuit and a games room as well as a jacuzzi, sun lawns and a pool bar;
• a health and fitness club and spa.

 

Awards

Desert Springs Resort was awarded Best Golf Resort for Groups in Europe by the 2016 European Group Travel Awards (EGTA). The Indiana Course at Desert Springs Resort has also been recognised as the 6th Best Golf Course in Spain, based on the reviews of players who rated the course on the Leading Courses website. Out of the 345 courses present on this ranking the Indiana Course at Desert Springs occupies 6th place with a score of 8,8/10, and awards Desert Springs Golf Club with the “Outstanding” badge. This distinction is only given to the best 10 courses in the country.

Desert Springs Resort has been awarded the Daily Mail Best Almeria Award and the Bentley International Property Awards for the Best Spain Development and Best Architecture, as well as the Spanish National Madera Verde Prize for Environmentally Sensitive Development & SICTED award for the distinction of “Commitment to Tourism Quality”. El Torrente Restaurant has received the New Millennium International GastronomyAward for the Tourist, Hotel and Catering Industry. This award was created by the Trade Leaders Club with the aim of distinguishing companies from all countries, for the outstanding quality of their products or services.

 

The climate of the Almanzora coastal region

Desert Springs Resort takes it name from the region’s desert microclimate, which is unique in Europe. It has the warmest winter weather on the continent with an annual average of more than nine hours of daily sunshine and maximum daily temperatures of between 16°C (60°F) and 30°C (86°F) throughout the year.  Annual rainfall is less than 200 mm.  The Almanzora’s coastal waters are among the cleanest and warmest in Europe, attracting both fish and diving enthusiasts.

 

Reader enquiries:

Simon Coaker
The Almanzora Group Ltd
Sales & Marketing Manager
The Manor, Boddington, Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire GL51 0TJ

Tel: +44 (0) 1242 680116

Email: scc@almanzora.com