NT PGA Championship won’t go ahead in 2024, Palmerston Golf & Country Club management confirm
A leading PGA director has expressed their disappointment the Territory’s largest golf tournament will not go ahead this year, but has assured it will return as the “best ever” in 2025.
Northern Territory
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Updated, May 11: The NT PGA Championship is a popular event on the Australasia calendar giving Australian golfers a taste of the different conditions the Top End has on offer.
It is sponsored by the NT government through Major Events and is estimated to drive $1.6m of local spending each year.
However, it will not go ahead for the 2024 season as $3m worth of key irrigation works are underway at the Palmerston Golf and Country Club and won’t be ready in time for the comp.
General Manager of Tournaments and Global Tour Relationships Nick Dastey said it was a disappointment the “much-loved” stop on the schedule couldn’t go ahead.
“The Tailor-Made Building Services NT PGA Championship is a much-loved stop on our Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia schedule,” he said.
“While we are disappointed to not be playing the event in 2024, we worked extremely closely with our partners at Sporties and it was unfortunately a series of events and challenges beyond both our controls that forced this decision.
“We look forward to the event returning next year and seeing the results of the continuing investment and improvements at the Palmerston Golf and Country Club which will see the best ever NT PGA Championship being played in 2025.”
It comes after the Palmerston club’s general manager Matthew Hewer said while they were “very disappointed” not to go ahead it was worth doing the irrigation properly.
“Since 2016, the NT has definitely, 100 per cent become a favourite on the tour, they love coming up here because the Territory is such a unique place,” Mr Hewer said.
The event was first played at the Palmerston Golf and Country Club in 1995 with David Iwaski-Smith the first winner, however it only lasted two years.
It was revived in 2016 as a Tier 2 event on the PGA tour with Jordan Zunic wining that year, and with the exception of a 2021 cancellation due to Covid has been a consistent feature since.
Daniel Gale is the most recent winner in 2023 with a four-stroke victory over Chris Crabtree, while Territorian Aaron Pike was a popular victor in 2020.
Why major Territory sporting event has been canned for 2024
The 2024 edition of the Northern Territory PGA Championship, the biggest week on golf’s calendar in the Top End, will not progress after the timeline for $3 million worth of irrigation upgrades at the host club blew out.
Matthew Hewer, general manager of the Palmerston Golf & Country Club, revealed the club’s decision to can the 2024 edition of the Championship [NTPGA], which was to be held in August–September, in an email to City of Palmerston chief executive Luccio Cercarelli on March 18.
“I am writing to you today to inform you that regrettably we have made the decision to cancel the 2024 edition of the NTPGA,” Mr Hewer wrote.
“As you are aware, we are committed to the replacement of the irrigation system at the Palmerston Golf Course this year.
“The project started November last year, with the installation of the two new pump houses, and the contractors were supposed to be on site this week to start the install.
“The contractor has pushed this timeline out to start end of April, which means they won’t finish until at least the end of August, leaving us no time to prepare the course to a championship standard.
“I would like to assure you that the Palmerston Golf & Country Club is committed to the event, and... we intend to hold the event in 2025.”
Mr Hewer asked Mr Cercarelli if the council’s $30,000 annual sponsorship could be deferred, which has been recommended by council officers, who wrote that the event “delivers a wide range of community benefits including community engagement, development of golf as a recreational activity in the [Palmerston] region, and an estimated $1.6 million economic benefit to local businesses through accommodation and incidental spending”.
The irrigation upgrades, worth $3m, were in addition to a $9m program of works, commencing in 2022, to modernise the club, with upgrades including an 18-hole minigolf course, function spaces, and a new sports bar.
When contacted by the NT News, Mr Hewer said while the club was “very disappointed, obviously,” it was worth doing the irrigation properly.
“The first stage of the golf course was built in 1985, the irrigation for the last few years has been held together by Blu Tack and sticky tape and good luck,” he said.
Technology upgrades such as smart sprinklers would likely see the course consume 30–40 per cent less water after the new irrigation system was installed.
“What we’re doing will set this club up for the next 25–30 years as a community asset,” Mr Hewer said.
The manager said PGA Australia had “assured” the club its place in the schedule would be reserved for it to return in 2025.
“Since 2016, the NT has definitely, 100 per cent become a favourite on the tour, they love coming up here because the Territory is such a unique place,” Mr Hewer said.
“A lot of them built relationships with our members.”
Last year’s Championship, contested by 120 of Australia’s most talented golfers, was claimed by New South Welshman Daniel Gale who finished 14-under overall, four shots clear, thus earning himself the iconic ‘crocodile trophy’.
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