The PGA EuroPro Tour will once again return to Wensum Valley Hotel, Golf and Country Club for its annual season-opener.

Europe's leading development tour, which forms the third tier of golf in the continent, will return to the venue from May 1 for a three-day, 54-hole event.

Last year Newbury's Dan Seymour won a dramatic play-off at Wensum Valley by sinking a birdie on the 18th to defeat Liam Burns at the end of a weather-hit week.

The Tour will see some of Europe's finest young golfers coming to the region to vie for the £10,000 winners' cheque and take an early lead in the all-important Order of Merit.

The top five finishers on the Tour's money list earn cards on the Challenge Tour, putting them one step away from a place on the European Tour.

PGA EuroPro Tour Director of Operations Daniel Godding said: 'It has become tradition for us to start the season at Wensum Valley. We have seen some fantastic tournaments there in the past and I am sure this year will provide the same drama.

'The Tour seems to get more and more competitive every year and with Wensum Valley hosting the first event everybody is eager to get the season off to a winning start.'

Sky Sports will broadcast a two-hour high-definition highlights package from the event, showcasing the course and the region to national audience of golf fans.

The PGA EuroPro Tour is the third level of professional golf in Europe. The likes of Nicolas Colsaerts, Louis Oosthuizen, and Charl Schwartzel all played on the Tour early in the careers.

The 2009 PGA EuroPro Tour Order of Merit winner Scott Jamieson recently recorded his first European Tour win with victory at the Nelson Mandela Championship, meaning the first three winners on the 2013 European Tour are all previous PGA EuroPro Tour players.