The NGA / Hooters Professional Golf Tour, formerly the Hooters/Jordan Tour, dates back to 1988 with T.C. "Rick" Jordan as its owner and founder. Jordan envisioned a golf tour that would provide professional golfers an opportunity to compete in a professional atmosphere as well as achieve financial success. With alumni such as Lee Janzen, John Daly, Jim Furyk, Tom Lehman, Walter Hall (Senior PGA), David Toms, Scott McCarron and Chad Campbell, it has become clear that Rick Jordan's dream has become a reality.
In 1994, Hooters of America Inc. CEO, R.H."Bob" Brooks joined forces with the Jordan Tour by becoming the national title sponsor. The affiliation between the highly successful national restaurant chain and the fastest growing professional golf tour turned out to be a perfect match. At the end of the 1995 season, seeing the benefits and potential of the relationship, Hooters of America extended their National Title Sponsorship to a twenty year agreement and announced the inception of the Naturally Fresh Foods $250,000 National Points Championship. This solidified the NGA Tour's place in professional golf for many years to come.
Starting in 1995 and continuing through today, Hooters' involvement has taken this Tour to a plateau where it is no longer viewed as simply a training ground for the PGA Tour. With a total payout in 2003 of over 2.5 million dollars, the Hooters Tour under its sanctioning body, the National Golf Association, continues to grow and be recognized as one of the top professional tours in the world. Along with local television coverage, tournament scores appear regularly in USA Today and in other major newspapers across the country. Most of golf's prominent publications, such as GolfWeek and Golf Digest, continue to increase their coverage of the tour.
The NGA/Hooters Tour, which puts a greater emphasis on strong community support, well-organized events and benefiting a local charity, has helped more professionals acquire their PGA, Senior PGA, and Nationwide Tour cards than any other developmental tour. With professionalism a focal point of this Tour, the golf community and corporate America continues to be attracted to the high visibility and unique exposure opportunities presented by the NGA/Hooters Professional Golf Tour.
2:57:51 PM 
|
|
