Two-Man Golf Tour to be played at four top courses

Scratch golfers, weekend warriors and duffers, here’s your chance to go on tour — a Sarasota-Manatee tour, that is. And to stand side-by-side on the victory podium with a professional, championship PGA golfer.

Sarasota-based BEKS Entertainment Group, in partnership with the PGA North Florida Section and The Observer Group Inc. announced this week plans for The Two-Man Golf Tour Observer Cup, to be held on four weekends from September through December at four of the area’s premier golf courses.

Open to the public and men and women of all golf skills, the Two-Man Golf Tour Observer Cup will be played at TPC Prestancia, Heritage Oaks Golf & Country Club, Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club and the Longboat Key Club and Resort. The first round will be Sunday, Sept. 26.

The event will feature two-man and two-women teams that will be paired in four flights according to handicaps and skill levels, giving all the entrants an opportunity to win cash prizes and Observer Cup trophies.

Team scores will be tallied in a point-system that will determine the flight champions for each round, with prizes awarded after each round. A championship round will be played Sunday, Dec. 12 at the Longboat Key Club and Resort, where a PGA pro will present the top two players in each flight with an Observer Cup as the tour champions. The PGA player also will be on hand to sign autographs and for photographs.

Cost of the tour will be $125 per course per player or $450 for all four events. Each entry fee will include full breakfasts prior to the tournament and full lunches after each round. Teams will not be required to play in all four rounds.

Proceeds from the event will benefit Youth Golf of America, a national, not-for-profit organization that teaches and promotes golf among youth.

Created and organized by Tim Bekkering, chief executive officer of BEKS Entertainment, a special-events company, the Two-Man Golf Tour in Sarasota will be the test site and first of more than 60 similar events BEKS and the PGA plan to roll out across the nation and internationally.

Bekkering said when he pitched the idea to the PGA, the organization was eager to sign on as a sponsor.

“They see this as a way to promote golf to a wide audience,” Bekkering said. “Until we came along, only the top amateurs in the country had opportunities to play at some of the better courses around the country on the amateur tour. But with Two-Man Golf, the idea is to give everyone who likes golf but who isn’t a scratch player and who doesn’t have memberships at the top country clubs to have an opportunity to play at some great courses.

“We’re thrilled that we were able to sign up such great courses for our first Two-Man Golf Tour,” Bekkering said.

Bekkering said the PGA has committed to having a prominent player from the PGA present at each event’s trophy presentations.

“They’re really trying to reach out and get players down to the grassroots level,” he said.

Bekkering said the tournaments will be able to accommodate 72 two-person teams for each tournament date. He said he already has 24 teams signed up, with six of those women twosomes.

To register for the Two Man Golf Tour, visit www.twomangolftour.com.

For more information or to become a sponsor, call BEKS Entertainment Group, 925-7581.

TWO MAN GOLF TOUR
WHAT: Two Man Golf Tour, consisting of men and women twosomes paired up in four flights for four rounds of best-ball tournament play
WHEN / WHERE: Sept. 26, TPC Prestancia; to be determined, Heritage Oaks Golf & Country Club; Nov. 14, Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club; Dec. 12, Longboat Key Club and Resort
COST: $125 per person per round, or $450 per person for all four rounds; including full breakfasts, lunches and prizes at each round
BENEFITTING: Youth Golf of America
CONTACT: Tim Bekkering, BEKS Entertainment, 925-7581