HERTFORD — The Albemarle Championship golf tournament featuring more than 40 professional GPro Tour golfers gets underway Thursday at the Sound Golf Links at Albemarle Plantation.
The three-day tournament, which raises money for local charities, kicked off Sunday with a number of pre-tourney events, including a nine-hole AP Realty Kick-off Classic and a “Putting for Polio” event hosted by the Rotary Club.
Pre-tourney events continued Monday with a Blue Legacy Advisers Pro-Am, a pro-am luncheon, and practice rounds for professionals who’ll be competing in the tournament starting Thursday.
Tuesday’s pre-tourney events will begin with the Swimme & Son Community Pro-Am, a pro-am dinner and more practice rounds for the pros who’ll be competing in the tournament.
After practice rounds Wednesday morning, a Beltone shootout on the 10th hole will be held from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. That will be followed by a Games on the Green Pary at the 18th hole, a Farm Bureau Long Drive Contest, Coastal Carolina Family Practice Million Dollar Shot Challenge and the First National Bank Closest to the Pin from the Horseshoe contest.
The first round of the Albemarle Championship begins on Thursday at 7:30 a.m. Play will continue until 7:30 p.m. Round 2 follows on Friday, again from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The final round will be Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. That will be followed by a Sentara Veranda Party and Awards Ceremony where the winners will receive their checks.
According to a press release, the GPro Tour is a Carolinas-based developmental tour that stages two- and three-day tournaments in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Founded in 2013 by Gary Hough, a former professional tour golfer, the GPro Tour is designed to appeal to young professional players to help them “develop their game and at lower entry fees.” To date, the GProTour has paid out more than $7 million in prize money, the release states.
Akshay Bhatia, who won the 2021 Biggs Classic at the Sound Golf Links, won the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour season’s opening Bahamas Great Exuma Classic and 4th-place finisher Carson Young won the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Panama Championship. In July 2023, Bhatia earned his first PGA Tour victory by winning a playoff at the Barracuda Championship in California.
According to the release, 100% of the player entry fees for the Albemarle Championship will go to local charities. In the past, the charities that have benefited include the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Albemarle, the ECU Biggs Scholarship fund and the Rotary Scholarship program. The Hertford Rotary Club’s share of profits from the Albemarle Championship will go to students in Perquimans County and the region. Over the past 16 years, the Rotary Club has provided $90,000 in scholarship money to Perquimans County students, the release said.
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