Professionals from all over Australia and New Zealand will converge on Mackay this week for the 2015 New Pioneer Motors City of Mackay Open.

The 2015 staging
of the City of Mackay Open marks 52 years since the inaugural event, when it
boasted a prize purse of 250 pounds for the Professionals.

This year will see
77 Professionals competing for $60,000 in prize money along with their name on
an honour board that also includes 1990 US PGA Champion Wayne Grady.

The event has
been a significant part of the Choice Hotels PGA Pro-Am Series since the tour
started and Tournament Director Bill Cooper is proud to have been able to
continue on with the history this year.

"The club has
a proud history of being involved with professional golf which goes back to its
inception in 1963. This would not be the case without the support of our
generous sponsors throughout this time and we really must thank them for
ensuring the success and longevity of this tournament," said Cooper.

"We have seen
a number of Australian greats come through Mackay over this time, including
Peter Senior and more recently Scott Hend and hopefully we will see the 2015
champion on the world stage in future years." 

There is no
doubt the 2009 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner Michael Sim will
be the one to watch but he will have tough competition lead by last year’s Fiji
International winner Steven Jeffress and 2013 City of Mackay Open champion
Andrew Martin.

"I am really
looking forward to getting out on the course this week, especially when I
haven’t played a tournament since the Thailand Open in early June," said Sim,
who finished in a tie for 34^th in Thailand.

"The course
is in good shape and keeping your ball in the fairway will be paramount for a
good finish this week."

"Although I
haven’t played much over the past few weeks, this event will give me a good
indication of where my game is at and what I need to work over the coming
weeks."

Unfortunately
last year’s winner Josh Geary will not return in 2015 to defend his title after
gaining his card on the PGA Tour of China earlier this year.

Geary has
gone onto win both the Buick Open and Lanhai Open in China to not only lead the
Order of Merit, but more importantly he is well on his way to re-gaining playing
rights on the Web.com Tour.

Before the
professionals take to the course in Mackay on Thursday, 60 of the contingent
will head 30 minutes west to take part in the $11,000 Pioneer Valley Pro-Am on
Wednesday.

This will be
the 16^th staging of the pro-am at Pioneer Valley with Marcus Cain
and Steven Jeffress the only two previous winners in this year’s field. 

The Sunshine
Swing forms part of the Choice Hotels PGA Pro-Am Series which comprises of 200
events Australia wide.

Played across
more than 170 golf courses around Australia the Choice Hotels PGA Pro-Am Series
plays an important part in the development of Australia’s Professional Golfers
whilst also growing the game at a grass roots level by engaging an estimated
48,000 amateur golfers each year.