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Ryder Cup legend Sam Torrance to tee up at Close House
Ryder Cup-winning captain Sam Torrance will be among the star names teeing up at this year’s ISPS Handa PGA Seniors Championship at Close House.
Sam Torrance
It signals a return to the tournament for Torrance, who is seeking to win the title for a third time after capturing it in 2005 and 2006.
The 61-year-old Scot, who has won 11 Senior and 21 European Tour titles during a glittering career, will be one of the players to watch at the four-day championship, which is being staged at the highly-rated Close House, near Newcastle, between June 11-14.
The Championship, which boasts a £260,000 prize fund, will be played over the 6,813-yard par-71 Lee Westwood Colt Course, ranked in the UK's top 100 courses by Golf Monthly, which was designed as a tribute to iconic English golf course architect Harry Colt.
Torrance, who has also carved out a successful off-course career as golf pundit, said: “The PGA Championship is one of our biggest events on the schedule so I look forward to playing in it.
“It’s a new venue which comes very highly rated and it would be great to win the title for a third time at a third venue.”
Close House, which has agreed to stage the tournament for three years, is looking forward to hosting the prestigious event.
“To stage a top-ranking tournament of this magnitude for the first time confirms an exciting period in our development and is testament to everyone connected with Close House and shows how far we have come since opening less than four years ago,” said owner Graham Wylie.
“The decision to stage the championship here at Close House gives us an excellent opportunity to showcase our facilities and will allow golf fans in the Newcastle area an exclusive opportunity to see top class professional golf at close quarters.
“We have already had 12,000 golf fans register for tickets, which are complimentary, and we are looking forward to hosting them as well as welcoming all the leading European Senior Tour players to the North East.”
Golf specialists MJ Abbott Limited constructed the Lee Westwood Colt Course at Close House in the summer of 2009, with completion in spring 2010. To read more about the construction project, follow this link.
