The 888poker.com PGA Europro Tour season is in full swing and next week will some of the finest players in Europe gather at Bovey Castle in Devon for the 2012 Your Golf Travel Classic.

Chris Hanson, who topped last season’s Order of Merit, will make a return to the 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour next week to defend his title at Bovey Castle. He will be joined at the Your Golf Travel Classic by John E Morgan and West Ham United midfielder Gary O’Neil, who will be playing as an amateur at the Devon event.

The stellar field at the Your Golf Travel classic will also include current Order of Merit co-leaders Dan Seymour and Michael LeMesurier who will be hoping to build on their early season successes.

Morgan is one of the most high-profile graduates of the PGA EuroPro Tour and stunned the golfing world in 2002 by gaining both his USPGA Tour Card and European Tour Card in his rookie year.

Elevation changes and picturesque, natural water hazards are among the difficulties of Bovey Castle.

As the Tour’s best performer in 2011 Hanson earned his place on this summer’s Challenge Tour, along with the other top-five finishers on last season’s PGA EuroPro Tour. Last year Hanson shot rounds of 68 and 69 before finishing with a stunning 63 to finish the event on ten under par and claim the £10,000 winners’ cheque.

Despite the pressures that come with being the defending champion, Hanson is lokoing forward to his return to Bovey Castle and, let’s face it, with a such a stunning golf courses in wait, who wouldn’t be?

“It will be a really tough event,” he said. “There will be a lot of pressure on me to perform well with the background that I have got there but I’ll go there and enjoy it. I have a few things to work on with my game and it will be a good week to try those things out.

“The EuroPro Tour has a lot of history for me; I played on it for five years and had some really good results. Bovey Castle has always been really good to me, so to come back on a week off and play somewhere I really like is going to be good.

Various parts of Bovey Castle are extremely tight, calling for long, accurate driving.

“I won there last year and in 2006. I’ve had two wins and two top tens in my five tournaments there, so I have some good memories of the course.

“You have to control your ball well at Bovey. It’s quite tight in places and the wind is a key factor on the back nine. My distance control is pretty good so Bovey does suit my game.

“The back nine is amazing. The stream goes through every hole on the back nine and those last four holes are really tough and 15 and 16 are absolutely brilliant golf holes which set it up for a really great finish.”

After a successful start to life on the Challenge Tour, Hanson admits to keeping an eye to keep a close eye on how things are unfolding on the 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour as well.

“I have a lot of background on the EuroPro,” he said. “I have a lot of good friends who play on it and I keep a close eye on how those guys are doing.

“Since the EuroPro Tour Championship last October I have had a bit of time at home with my family. I went to European Tour Q School in December but didn’t get past the second stage there.

There are few parkland courses in the UK that rival Bovey Castle for beauty.

“I started the Challenge Tour season in India in January and finished 30th. I went to Columbia after that and finished fourth and then made the cut last week in France, so it hasn’t been a bad start to the season.”

The Your Golf Travel Classic is the third event of the 2012 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour and gets underway this coming Wednesday (May 23), with the champion being crowned on Friday (May 25).

156 competitors will battle it out over 54 holes on the stunning parkland course with the cut coming after two rounds of tournament play. The leading 50 players and ties will make to Friday to be in with chance of claiming the title.

Spectator entry to the event is free. Live scoring from the event will be available on the PGA EuroPro website and regular updates will also be posted on the Tour’s official Twitter feed. (@PGAEuroProTour)

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