Star looks forward to Seniors at Slaley

Nov 25 2008 by Tim Taylor, The Journal

GORDON J Brand will have the chance to defend the De Vere Collection PGA Seniors Championship at Slaley Hall following confirmation of its return in 2009.

The ex-Ryder Cup player, who this year beat his namesake Gordon Brand Junior in dramatic fashion after a six-hole play-off, will be among an all-star cast over the Hunting Course from June 25-28.

Brand praised the course, which will also host the postponed Journal Champion of Champions tournament on March 29, calling it a real test of championship golf.

“It’s a great course to play a championship on. You aren’t going to get guys shooting 10 or 12 under par. It’s a true championship course which is how it should be,” he said.

“It’s always great to win but when you look back there are certain tournaments which you think ‘that was great to win’ and the PGA Seniors Championship is one. It is a good course, good prize-money. There’s always a possibility you can go back and defend it – not many people do so it would be nice.”

Included in the event’s roll of honour are Open Championship winners Max Faulkner, Kel Nagle and Peter Thomson, six-time champion Christy O’Connor and European Seniors Tour Chairman Neil Coles.

European Seniors Tour stalwarts Tommy Horton, Brian Huggett and Brian Waites are also former winners and all, coincidentally, won the Northern Electric Seniors tournament on the Hunting Course in the 1990s.

PGA chief executive Sandy Jones said: “Following the success of last year’s Seniors championship we are looking forward to returning to Slaley Hall and once again seeing some of the best players in European Seniors golf fighting it out for one of the Tour’s flagship events.

“The venue proved immensely popular among players and spectators alike and I’m sure it will again prove a highlight on the golfing calendar.”

Daniel Hodson, De Vere’s golf and leisure director, said everyone connected with the championship was relishing the prospect of the event returning to the venue following its inaugural staging there in August this year.

“This year’s event was a great all-round experience for everyone who took part and attended Slaley Hall, while the tournament was a fantastic spectacle that finished in dramatic fashion,” he said.

“Given the incredibly positive feedback we had from the players, hospitality guests and spectators in the galleries, then we are already looking forward to next year’s tournament and making sure it is another spectacular week. Hosting the PGA Seniors Championship is a great opportunity to showcase the Hunting Course and the facilities on offer at Slaley Hall, while De Vere’s support of this competition highlights our ongoing commitment to championing world-class golf.”