Hilton Head Island, S.C. – February 24, 2015 – The Charlotte, N.C.-based eGolf Gateway Tour will kick off its 14th season tomorrow on Hilton Head Island, S.C. with the sixth annual Palmetto Hall Championship presented by Sonesta HHI, to be contested at Palmetto Hall Golf Club on February 25-28, 2015. The event will be the first of 14 regular season events on the tour’s 2015 east coast schedule, which will include an additional four events highlighted by guaranteed $200,000 purses.

The 2015 season will mark the first as the eGolf Gateway Tour, following the joint venture put forth last fall between the existing eGolf and All-American Gateway Tours. As a result, players will be offered year-round playing opportunities on the largest developmental circuit in the United States, with over 34 events spanning both coasts.

Palmetto Hall Plantation Cupp Course No. 18

“Our idea was to create a nationwide footprint to better establish our brand and offer a more universal approach to the traditional mini-tour idea,” said tour president David Siegel. “By focusing primarily on the Southeast and Arizona markets, we feel as though we are capturing some of the game’s best up-and-coming players in locales that are ideal for PGA TOUR development.”

With only five events remaining on the tour’s west coast schedule, a majority of players will focus their post-April efforts on the tour’s east coast swing, which will feature a number of guaranteed purses and the first of four $200,000 events with the Biggs Cadillac Buick GMC Open – set to be contested at The Sound Golf Links in Hertford, N.C. on May 28-31. The remaining three events, complete with dates and venues, will be announced in the coming weeks.

“We enjoyed a successful 2014 campaign with our Million Dollar Championship Series putting forth $1,000,000 in guaranteed purses, and wanted to keep that momentum going by again offering the largest guaranteed purses in the industry,” said Siegel of the $200,000 events. “These players are trying to keep themselves afloat financially while chasing a dream, and we want to be at the forefront of that effort.”

The Palmetto Hall Championship will kick start a 2015 campaign in which the tour will make stops at elite venues such as Mid Pines Resort, St. James Plantation, Sedgefield Country Club, Spring Creek Golf Club, Mimosa Hills Country Club and more.

Notable players in the field at Palmetto Hall include:

Chris Epperson (Hilton Head Island, S.C.)
Epperson, a former college star at nearby Armstrong Atlantic State, enters the week as a heavy favorite given his local ties and knowledge of the venue. The 32-year-old made six cuts in 20 starts on the Web.com Tour last year, with his lone top-25 coming at the Panama Claro Championship in March (T20). On the eGolf Gateway Tour, Epperson starred as one of the most consistent performers, finishing third on the 2012 money list and sixth on the 2013 money list during a two-year span in which he made 30-of-31 cuts. He notched 11 top-5s over that stretch, including a third-place finish at the 2013 Palmetto Hall Championship, where he was the tournament’s 54-hole leader.

Chris Epperson

Ryan Nelson (Charleston, S.C.)

At age 36, Nelson is somewhat the elder statesman of the eGolf Gateway Tour, and arguably its top player. The married father of two is two months removed from winning the $300,000 Tour Championship at Palmetto Hall, where rounds of 64-67-67-70—268 (20-under) delivered his sixth career title and the event’s $50,000 first-place prize. Nelson posted six top-5s on tour last year en route to winning the money title with $112,851 in earnings – nearly $32,000 clear of the No. 2 player on the season-ending money list. He has made two of three cuts at the Palmetto Hall Championship, recording a career-best T4 at the event’s 2014 edition.

Tadd Fujikawa (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Playing as an amateur at age 15, Fujikawa qualified for the 2006 U.S. Open, becoming the youngest golfer ever to do so. In 2007, he made the cut in a PGA TOUR event at the Sony Open in Hawaii, becoming the second-youngest player to ever achieve that feat (16 years, 4 days). Fujikawa posted a third-round 62 at the 2009 Sony Open, and finished T19 in the event’s 2012 edition. Fujikawa is easily one of the most recognizable non-PGA TOUR players in the world, especially given his 5'1" stature. His size is the result of being born three months premature, when doctors gave him a 50/50 chance of survival. As an infant, he fit in his grandfather's palm. Fujikawa captured his first eGolf Tour title at the Tour Championship in August of 2010, en route to finishing 4th on the 2010 money list. The 24-year-old has made two of four cuts in his career at the Palmetto Hall Championship, posting a career-best 28th-place finish last year.

Sterling Sharpe (Columbia, S.C.)
Sharpe will be competing as an amateur for the fifth time on the eGolf Gateway Tour, and the first time since 2012. The former University of South Carolina wide receiver was a five-time NFL "All Pro" and five-time "Pro Bowl" selection while starring for the Green Bay Packers from 1988 through 1994. In 2002, Sharpe was inducted into the Packers’ Hall of Fame. Sharpe's brother, Shannon, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August of 2011, and gave a moving speech in which he referred to himself as "(I am) the only player who has been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and am the second-best player in my family."

Sterling Sharpe

Other players of note in the field include defending champion Ethan Tracy (Columbus, Ohio), seven-time tour winner Frank Adams III (Laurinburg, N.C.), 2007 British Amateur champion and 2012 leading money winner Drew Weaver (High Point, N.C.) and four-time tour winner T.J. Howe (Osceola, Pa.).

Local players of note include Adam Lescalleet (Hilton Head Island, S.C.), Nathan Stamey (Bluffton, S.C.) and Drew Aimone (Savannah, Ga.).

The star of the show, so to speak, at Palmetto Hall, is the host Robert Cupp course. The acclaimed venue is a demanding layout that requires precise shotmaking in and around a multitude of hazards that feature unprecedented geometric shaping. The Cupp Course annually ranks as one of the five most difficult tracks on the eGolf Gateway Tour schedule, as evidenced by the winning scores put forth over the past four seasons.

Current PGA TOUR member Russell Knox won the 2010 Palmetto Hall Championship with an 8-under 280 total; former eGolf Tour leading money winner Corey Nagy won the event’s 2011 edition with a 12-under 276 total, while longtime eGolf Gateway Tour player and former PGA TOUR member Brent Delahoussaye posted an 11-under 277 total to claim the 2012 title – all three winning scores giving testament to the difficulty of Palmetto Hall. Web.com Tour member Matt Hendrix won the 2013 title with a 15-under 273 score, but was one of just two players to better 7-under par for the week.

In 2014, with inclement weather shortening the event to 54 holes, former Western Amateur champion Ethan Tracy notched his first career victory with a 9-under par tally, winning over Mike Furci on the first hole of a sudden death playoff.

The Palmetto Hall Championship presented by HHI will begin at 8:00 AM on Wednesday morning at Palmetto Hall, with players competing in threesomes in two waves off of Nos. 1 and 10. Following the conclusion of 36 holes, the field will be cut to the low 35 percent and ties for the final two rounds of play.

The tournament is open to the public and free of charge. For more information on the Palmetto Hall Championship or the eGolf Gateway Tour, please visit www.egolf.com.