Foxhills Club & Resort, a patron of Surrey Chambers of Commerce, has been announced as the host venue for Great Britain & Ireland’s eagerly anticipated PGA Cup clash with the United States in 2017.
The Surrey club will stage the 28th playing of the matches which will be contested over three days in a Ryder Cup-style format from September 15th-17th.
GB&I will be bidding to retain the Llandudno Trophy following their thrilling, and historic, first triumph on US soil at CordeValle, California in 2015.
Foxhills enjoys a long tradition of hosting elite level golf having staged a number of prestigious tournaments such as the European Tour’s Tournament Players Championship and the Tour’s Qualifying School where Open champion Sandy Lyle tasted victory. PGA chief executive Sandy Jones commented: “Foxhills is a perfect venue for the PGA Cup with a great history and a fantastic course that will be ideal to showcase the talents of the leading PGA players from either side of the Atlantic.
“The victory in California last year has really whetted everyone’s appetite for this next chapter in this great event.
“With GB&I also having tied at Slaley Hall in 2013, and grabbed victory on the last hole in 2015, it promises to be another equally close fought and exciting contest between the teams.”
Marc Hayton, the managing director of Foxhills, added: “The PGA Cup is an excellent showcase of the world’s best club professionals and we are delighted to host the 2017 event.” Great Britain & Ireland’s captain Albert MacKenzie was given the choice of either the Longcross or the Bernhard Hunt courses, but after playing both, he and vice captains Cameron Clarke and Martyn Thompson plumped for the former.
The tree-lined Longcross, which plays 6,750 yards off the back tees, is set to provide a perfect setting for the 28th PGA Cup from September 15-17 which will see GB&I bidding to retain the trophy they won in California in 2015.
MacKenzie said, “I feel the Longcross is more British in its style, it is heavily tree-lined with a huge emphasis on precision.
“It is also a great matchplay course from a risk and reward point of view - many of the holes, particularly on the back nine, fall into that category.
“It is tight with tree-lined fairways and smaller greens which have got more subtle slopes.
“There is a strong emphasis on hitting fairways and keeping the ball under the hole. I couldn’t be happier. It is a wonderful golf course and I know our guys will enjoy the challenge that it presents.”
Foxhill’s director of golf Chris Reeve, added: “Longcross is a splendid course which really challenges golfers. Length isn’t an advantage; players need to be tactically astute and manage their game if they’re going to do well, something I think will favour the British and Irish players.”
Longcross is a regular feature in top 100 courses lists while its 536-yard par five 14th was voted one of the greatest holes in golf in a listener poll on BBC Radio 5 Live.
The PGA Cup is a biennial matchplay competition contested between The PGA and the PGA of America. Ten players from each Association compete in a Ryder Cup-style format of foursomes, fourballs and singles played over three days.
The event was first played at Pinehurst Country Club in 1973. 2017 will be the 28th staging of the matches.
www.foxhills.co.uk
