Professional golf returns to Sebring's Citrus Golf Trail By Brian Weis

Professional golf returns to Sebring's Citrus Golf Trail

Minor League Golf Tour to host three events in 2021

By Brian Weis

Professional golf returns to Sebring's Citrus Golf Trail as the Minor League Golf Tour (MLGT) will host three events during its 2021 season at Sun 'N Lake Golf Club.

The MLGT will put on three 3-round events, starting with April 12-14 at Deer Run Golf Course. The rising tour pros will test themselves on the par 72 layout that will be stretched out to 7,002 yards.

"We appreciate the support of everyone in the Sebring area to bring the Minor League Golf Tour to the Citrus Golf Trail," said Scott Turner, CEO and Tournament Director of the MLGT. "The growth and interest in our events have increased over the last few years. Having a terrific site like Deer Run to host three of our events this season will give our competitors a different challenge that will better prepare them for the next step in their career."

Founded in 2004, the MLGT has become a proving ground for PGA Tour hopefuls. During that time, the MLGT has hosted more than 1,800 tournaments with more than 4,000 players to payout more than $10 million in prizes. Entering the 2020 season, 88 MLGT alumni have status on the PGA Tour or Korn Ferry Tour.

"On behalf of the team at Sun 'N Lake, we are proud to welcome the Minor League Golf Tour to Deer Run and look forward to providing the players with a great course to showcase their talent," said Andy Kesling, Head Golf Professional at Sun 'N Lake and Citrus Golf Trail Officer. "To have these talented young players in our area for three days will make for an exciting golf event that will be great to host in our community."

The April event kicks off a three-tournament commitment, with the second event coming during the fall portion of the schedule and the final event will be part of the Citrus Golf Trail Open, Dec. 2-5, 2021.

"Thanks to all of our partners coming together, we are able to bring professional golf back to Sebring," said Casey Hartt, Visit Sebring's Tourism Consultant. "We look forward to three great events this year as the start of a long and prosperous relationship with the MLGT that will have a significant economic impact on our community during targeted months."

Each event is expected to have between 50-70 players attending from across the state of Florida, starting with a practice round the day before the opening round.

"We are fortunate to have a great team that has come together to bring professional golf back to the Citrus Golf Trail," said Joel Lamp, Senior Director of Tourism for Airstream Ventures. "This is a great opportunity to highlight not just Sun 'N Lake, but the entire Citrus Golf Trail, and continue to bring awareness of the great golf opportunities in this area."

Revised: 03/01/2021 - Article Viewed 13,356 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.