Bulgaria Keen to Cash in on Golf Event, Targets USD 100 M

Bulgaria is hoping to rake in a total of USD 100 M as host of Europe's top golf event of next year.

The World Match Play Championship is traditionally covered by over 250 sports media worldwide and reaches an audience of over 1.5 billion people.

"Along with the tournament itself, the foreign media are going to present Bulgaria as the host of the event, showing Bulgarian history, tourist, cultural and sport attractions," organizers say.

The European Golf Tour will take place from May 16-19, 2013 at Thracian Cliffs, which has been hailed as Bulgaria's version of the famous American coastal course Pebble Beach.

This will be the first time that Bulgaria will host a full European Tour event, part of a drive to break new ground in the largely untapped golfing market of Eastern Europe.

Even though Bulgaria doesn't have a player ranked in the world's top 1,500 professionals, it has managed to attract car manufacturer Volvo as a sponsor.

The tournament was staged at England's Wentworth from 1964 to 2009, and this year was the last at its second home at Finca Cortesin.