Bristol's Players Club will host a new West Region PGA order of merit tournament this year.

The 54-hole Premier Golf/Travelex Champion-ship is scheduled for August 21-23 with a prize fund of £15,000. It will run initially for two years.

The new sponsorship will also benefit club golfers as it is tied in to two promotions involving amateurs. Clubs are invited to nominate a team of three to take part in qualifying team tournaments.

The winning trio, plus their club professional, will play qualifying pro-ams at either Woodbury Park, Devon, on August 8 or The Players Club on August 18. The winning two teams from each venue will be rewarded with a trip to Troia in Portugal in October.

Professionals will be encouraged to take groups of members to Portugal for special Premier Golf events in the Lisbon area.

The man behind the events is Peter Callaghan from Premier Golf. He is a member at Long Sutton in Somerset and hatched the idea with club pro Andrew Hayes before the scheme was adopted by the region.

Sherborne is back on the list again this year while Dorset club Ashley Wood at Blandford is hosting a pro-am for the first time in its 110-year history. Enmore Park's centenary celebrations include a pro-am on May 25. There is also a new pro-am at Gloucester.

There will be three order of merit tournaments the Premier Golf/Travelex Championship, the NIS Employment Services West Region Championship at Chipping Sodbury on September 11-14 and the Welsh Open at Marriott St Pierre on July 30-August 3. The Wood/BMW Classic has finished after 11 years.

But Dudsbury still features on the calendar, joining Knighton Heath and Meyrick Park in hosting the annual Bournemouth Festival in September.

The three-day Cornish Festival, sponsored by WaverleyTBS, signals the traditional start to the season this month. It is based as usual at Trevose. Newquay returns to the roster after three years while St Enodoc's course is the third venue once more.

The Vision Villas West Region head professionals' championship is again sponsored by Salisbury businessman Brian Jacobs at Rushmore Park. This will be an 18-hole event on October 18 with prize fund of £5,000.

The fourball betterball White Hart Hotel tournament is at Launceston from June 22-21. The five-day Stena Line Irish Pro-Am at St Helen's Bay and Rosslare starts on May 5.

The Titleist-Footjoy Assistants League fixtures, which encourage up-and-coming professionals, are at Exeter, Stinchcombe Hill, Long Sutton, Lyme Regis and Bath. The leading five win substantial merchandise prizes.

The West Region patrons' club holds events at Saunton, The Kendle-shire, Orchardleigh, the Players Club, Exeter, Lyme Regis and Bath.