Brisbane local to defend richest one day pro-am title

Australia’s richest one day pro-am is set to return to Wynnum next week, with a $100,000 prize purse on the line in a year which sees the Wynnum Golf Club celebrate 100 years of memories and events.

2022 is the fourteenth consecutive year in which the Bartons/BMD Pro-Am has held the title of richest one-day pro-am in Australia, with local and professional athletes set to convene at the Wynnum Golf Course on 28 November to battle it out for top honours.

One such professional who will be stepping up to the tee is Aaron Wilkin, a Brisbane local who will be defending his title after winning the event in 2021. Aaron is also going into the event after securing a breakthrough victory at the Queensland PGA Championship in Brisbane last weekend.

“I’m looking forward to getting back to my home club amongst a stellar line up of professionals at what is one of my favourite events on the PGA circuit,” Aaron said.

“I had a fantastic Pro-Am win at the Optilease Redcliffe Pro-Am this year and feel like I’ve been playing well. I’ll be heading to Asian Qualifying School in January next year so it’s great to have many playing opportunities at the tail end of the year before I get there.

“The course is looking great, and the team is putting in a lot of work, obviously a very big year for the club being their 100-year centenary, there is no chance I would miss this. It’s great to see hardworking businesses putting back into the community and giving us a fantastic opportunity to work.

“I’m really looking forward to the summer with all the tournaments ahead, it’s a very exciting time for Australian golf, he said.

Patron of Wynnum Golf Club and founder of BMD Group, Mick Power AM said along with Bartons, BMD is proud to have supported the local golf club through the $3.5 million which has been raised by hosting the annual event since 1979.

“Following two years of lockdowns and border closures, we’re looking forward to welcoming back a stellar line up of national and international professionals to our event,” Mick said.

“Defending champion Aaron will be joined by the likes of 2021 Western Australian Pro-Am winner Jay Mackenzie, 2021 Victorian PGA winner Chris Wood, the unstoppable Tim Hart who has won a remarkable 56 PGA Pro-Ams in Queensland alone and recent winner of the 2022 Western Australian Open Deyen Lawson.

“The event will be a great opportunity for the Brisbane community to come down and follow their favourite players around the course for free,” he said.

Managing Director of Bartons, Mark Beitz said there is more incentive for players to bring their A-game to the event than ever before with some exceptional hole-in-one prizes on offer.

“Both our amateurs and professionals have the opportunity to win big on a number of holes with three prizes up for grabs including a Mitsubishi Triton 4×4 ute,” Mark said.

“We’re really looking forward to hosting this year’s Bartons/BMD Pro-Am and welcoming back the golfing community after a turbulent couple of years thanks to COVID-19,” he said.

The 44^th annual Bartons/BMD Pro-Am is being held on 28 November at Wynnum Golf Club. Both professionals and amateurs will tee off via rolling starts off the 1^st and 10^th holes between 6.00am and 7.15am and 10.27am and 12.40pm. Entry is free, and fans can follow their favourite players around the course.