Close House to host PGA Seniors Championship

Close House near Newcastle has been chosen as host venue for this June’s ISPS Handa PGA Seniors Championship, the oldest event on the European Senior Tour circuit.

Close House near Newcastle has been chosen as host venue for this June’s ISPS Handa PGA Seniors Championship, the oldest event on the European Senior Tour circuit.

The Championship is to be played between the 11th and 14th of June over the Newcastle club’s 6,813-yard par-71, Lee Westwood Colt course. Laid out as a tribute to iconic English golf course architect Harry Colt, the course was recently listed in Golf Monthly’s list of GB&I’s Top-100 Courses.

Tournament officials have indicated this is an arrangement that will see Close House stage the championship for a number of years.

The ISPS Handa PGA Seniors Championship was inaugurated back in 1957 and has subsequently been played at many of the country’s leading courses including Royal Mid-Surrey, Gleneagles, North Berwick, Royal Dublin, Sunningdale (Old) and The Belfry. There have been some notable winners of the competition including, Dai Rees, Kel Nagle, Christy O'Connor, Neil Coles and Sam Torrance.

The event was won last year by Spanish former European Tour player, Santiago Luna, who closed with a superb seven under par round of 64 to claim a two shot victory over Denmark’s Steen Tinning at The Stoke By Nayland Hotel, Golf & Spa in Essex.

Close House owner, Graham Wylie spoke about welcoming the historic tournament. “We are absolutely delighted to announce that Close House will play host to this year’s ISPS Handa PGA Seniors Championship,” he said.

“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. We are very much looking forward to welcoming all the leading European Senior Tour players to the North East.”

Sandy Jones, Chief Executive of The PGA, commented: “The PGA Seniors Championship has a long history of being contested at prestigious venues and Close House is a worthy addition to that list. It was last staged in the North East as recently as 2012 and I’m sure the spectators will be as knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the tournament as they were then.”

“ISPS Handa have supported golf at various levels for more than 25 years, including several tournaments which they use as a platform to promote opportunities for blind and disabled golfers. This will be the third year they have been involved in the tournament and their support is a huge boost to this historic event.”

Tickets for the event will be made available for the event at www.closehouse.com/pgaseniors on a complimentary basis.