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Royal Liverpool Golf Club to host the 2008 Srixon PGA Play-Offs

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The race to be crowned the PGA’s No 1 professional will be fought out over one of the country’s most prestigious courses after Royal Liverpool agreed to stage the 2008 Srixon PGA Play-Offs.

The Open venue, which returned to the rota in 2006 after a 39-year-absence and has played host to golf’s greatest players including Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen, further enhances the growing status of the end-of-season PGA play-offs which offers the leading finishers a gateway to European and Challenge Tour events.

Now in its third year, the race to be acclaimed Great Britain and Ireland’s best player promises to be an exciting contest with the field restricted to just 21 players pitting their wits against each other over 36 holes of one of the toughest links courses in the country.

And in addition to the prize money and the title of the country’s best professional, the extra incentive for competitors is entry to four of Europe’s biggest events - the BMW PGA Championship, Celtic Manor Wales Open, Barclays Scottish Open and European Open.

Given the rewards on offer, PGA chief executive Sandy Jones believes Hoylake will offer the perfect test worthy of the country’s best golfers.

“The PGA play-offs now sponsored by Srixon has in a short space of time become a crucial event for our members who wish to pursue opportunities with the European Tour,” he said.

“It is therefore vital that their skills are examined on a course such as Hoylake which is one of the finest tests in world golf.

“This point was well proved when we watched and admired the skills of Tiger Woods in winning the Open in 2006.

“I am sure the play-off winner will be a worthy champion on such a fine links.”
Southwell professional Paul Streeter landed the crown at Notts last October, with World of Golf’s Gary Marks triumphing at Woodhall Spa in 2006.

This year’s autumn battle, with Royal Liverpool hosting the event on October 21-22, will bring the curtain down on another intense season of domestic competition with in excess of 1,500 professionals bidding to reach the adrenaline-pumping showdown.

Qualification is reserved to the few and can only be secured via the PGA’s seven regional Order of Merit tables, with only the top three booking their berth.

Advanced Fellow of the PGA and Royal Liverpool head professional John Heggarty, who was canvassed ahead of the announcement, believes Hoylake will prove a fitting test.

“Hopefully the professionals who come here enjoy playing this classic links course, which should prove an excellent test of golf for the best PGA players,” said Heggarty.

“Hoylake maintains its condition right through the year and it should be in excellent condition for the play-offs.”

The tie-up with Royal Liverpool, which will stage a PGA final for the first time in its history, comes just four months after golf giant Srixon agreed a three-year deal to sponsor the play-offs and has been enthusiastically welcomed by Leslie Hepsworth, UK and Europe CEO for Srixon.

“We think it’s a fantastic venue and we’re very pleased to be going to an Open venue and I’m confident the professionals will be too,” he said.

“We have people up and down the country and this location is just perfect for us as a brand as it’s an important region for us given its proximity to England’s golf coast.”

Source: PGA