The PGA Tour of Australasia 2015 season tees off this week with a solid schedule to re-launch the summer of golf.

After a huge 2014 season, which saw 15 tournaments contested, in four countries for more than AU$7.8million in prize money with 15 individual Professionals from four countries winning titles the PGA Tour of Australasia and it’s players are ready to get back into action.

"Last year was another highly successful summer of golf in Australia and I, like all golf fans, am excited for the PGA Tour of Australasia to get back underway," said Brian Thorburn, CEO of the PGA of Australia and the PGA Tour of Australasia.

"The PGA Tour of Australasia continues to go from strength to strength with prize money increases for both the Oates Vic Open and the BMW NZ Open as well as the return of the Holden NZ PGA Championship."

The first half of the 2015 season is jam packed and gets underway this week at Thirteenth Beach Golf Links for the Oats Vic Open.

With a prizemoney increase to AU$250,000 a strong field has assembled to challenge defending champion Matthew Griffin for the title.

The field is a mix of household names including Peter Lonard, Peter O’Malley and Peter Fowler while the emerging Aussie stars are also out in force spearheaded by BetEasy Masters champion Nick Cullen, NZ Open champion Dimi Papadatos and European Tour rookie Jason Scrivener.

The Tour will then head to Huntingdale Golf Club, a course synonymous with Australian golf, for the Mercedes-Benz Truck & Bus Victorian PGA Championship.

This is the first time a Professional tournament will be contested on the Melbourne Sandbelt layout since 2009.

Being played in a pro-am format some of Australia’s best golfers will be joined by Shane Warne, Ricky Ponting, Sir Ian Botham and Sir Viv Richards as they battle for the Jack Harris Cup.  

The Coca-Cola QLD PGA Championship will once again bring Professional golf to City Golf Club for a celebration of golf throughout the entire Toowoomba community.

With plenty of activities for the whole family going on throughout the week there will be plenty of fun to be had outside the ropes while the Pros, including Brad Kennedy, Steve Jeffress and Michael Sim, demonstrate their talent inside the ropes.

The PGA Tour of Australasia will then take its first international trip for the year when it travels to New Zealand.

The Holden NZ PGA Championship makes a return to the schedule after a year’s hiatus and all eyes will be glued to Remuera Golf Club in Auckland to see if national hero Michael Hendry can claim his third consecutive NZ PGA title.

The following week Queenstown will provide a picturesque back drop as the BMW NZ Open Championship is contested at The Hills and Millbrook Resort.

A strong contingent of Kiwis will be aiming to break the winning drought at their National Open with Ryan Fox, Mark Brown, David Smail, Gareth Paddison, Josh Geary and Michael Hendry all strong chance to be the first local to claim the title since Mahal Pearce in 2003. 

While the PGA Tour of Australasia season starts this week our Aussies competing internationally are already excelling with Mathew Goggin winning the Panama Championship on the Web.com Tour.   

"While we are excited to see the season get back underway on home soil it is also pleasing to see our players exceeding on the world stage with Mathew Goggin this morning claiming the first Australian international victory of the year," added Thorburn.

"Already 2015 is shaping up to be a big year for the PGA Tour of Australasia and Australian golfers and I look forward to watching their success throughout the year."

The PGA Tour of Australasia will then take a break until the end of year tournaments get underway with the schedule yet be announced.

Please click here for further information about the upcoming PGA Tour of Australasia tournaments.