The opening event presents a $140,000 guaranteed purse and Web.com Tour United Leasing Championship & BMW Charity Pro-Am Championship event exemptions on the line.
The South Georgia Classic host, Kinderlou Forest Golf Club, event will be the first of sixteen (16) $140,000 guaranteed purse Pro Series events conducted by the SwingThought.com Tour in 2015. In addition to the guaranteed purse, the SwingThought.com Tour will also be awarding an event exemption into a Web.com Tour United Leasing Championship and BMW Charity Pro-Am Championship events at the Valdosta event on a yet-to-be-determined competitive basis.
Tim O’Neal attended Jackson State University and turned pro in 1997. Fans of O’Neal and us here at this publication are rooting for his success. During the 2005 season when he played on the Nationwide Tour, O’Neal recorded his best finish to date, a second place at the 2005 Northeast Pennsylvania Classic. He was able to maintain his good space throughout 2005 and 2006 finishing 44th and 36th on the tour money lists respectively. However, in 2007 and 2008 he was unable to retain his card for the following season.
As many of his loyal and dedicated fans watched, O’Neal’s career start to wane after losing his Nationwide Tour privileges, but he kept a strong determination to forge ahead with his passion. He brilliantly took his skills international and played on the Asian Tour, eGolf Professional Tour, the EPD Tour, and the Morocco-based Atlas Pro Tour. In 2011, the strong-willed athlete was invited to oversee the golf program at Jackson State, but he declined.
In 2013, O’Neal again added to his passport, taking up playing rights on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica with instant success winning the Arturo Calle Colombian Open and the Abierto de Chile in his first season on the tour. With these wins he sat at a third place finish on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica’s Order of Merit which was sufficient for him to regain his tour card for the 2014 Web.com Tour.
Created by Davis Love III Designs, the professional course opened in April 2004, serving as host to six PGA Nationwide Tour events and two PGA Web.com events in ten years. The South Georgia Classic was one of the largest events on the tour, with one of the richest purses on the PGA qualifying circuit. In an area known for flat terrain, the topography of Kinderlou Forest is unusual for the region. Undulating hills lend a unique element not found in southern Georgia, and the signature #4 with its deep, all natural ravine is one of the most challenging, yet beautiful, holes on the course. With five tee boxes on each hole, the course plays as short as 5,315 yards or as long as 7,781 yards.
The SwingThought.com Tour is currently taking memberships for the upcoming 2015 Pro Series set to begin in late February and continuing through to early September. The Pro Series will consist of 16 72-hole events with $140,000 Guaranteed Purses and 6 54-hole Qualifier/Q Prep events. Fields are limited to 132 players with the top 55 and ties making each cut. Also a minimum of six (6) 2015 Web.com Tour “event” exemptions will be awarded throughout the 2015 Pro Series season on a yet-to-be determined competitive basis. To join the 2015 SwingThought.com Tour Pro Series, players need only contact the SwingThought.com Tour offices at 800-992-8748 and sign up (memberships are granted on a first come first serve basis, no ranking schools or qualifiers are needed). Membership is $1500 running through January 16th and will increase to $1,800 after that date.
SwingThought.com Tour alumni have won an amazing 16 Major Championships and include 2012 and 2014 Masters champion Bubba Watson, 2011 PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley, 2010 PGA TOUR Player of the Year and 2003 US Open Champion Jim Furyk, 2007 Masters Champion Zach Johnson, two-time U.S. Open Champion Lee Janzen, British Open and PGA Champion John Daly, and recent PGA Tour winners such as Robert Streb, Ben Martin, Kevin Streelman, Michael Thompson, Ted Potter Jr, Gary Woodland, Russell Henley, Mark Wilson, George McNeill, Scott Stallings, Scott Piercy, current FedExCup Points Leader Robert Streb, and many more. More recently 89 of the 150 players competing in the 2014 Web.com Tour Q School Final Stage this past week were past players on the SwingThought.com Tour.
For more information visit SwingThought.com or call 800-992-8748.
