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February 2012 / Issue 207
News in Brief Carris Trophy The under 18 Championship for the Carris Trophy will return to Moor Park Golf Club in Hertfordshire, its home from 1935 to 1987, in July 2014.
hayling winners Hayling Island Golf Club hosted a round of the British Junior Golf Tour as part of its 2012 Links Challenge on February 14. The event was won by Hayling’s Olly Searle, who fired a nett 70 to win by a single shot from Harry Tebay. The best nett winner was Hayling’s Travis Yung-Hok. who returned a 68 playing off an 11 handicap. The event saw around 40 elite juniors play 18 holes for the opportunity to go to the World Junior Championships in California in July.
SENIOR FINALS
The English Seniors County Finals are to be held at Hindhead Golf Club in Surrey in early October. It marks the first time the Surrey venue has hosted an England Golf event.
Hodgson rises to the Challenge Former Walker Cup player Stiggy Hodgson is embarking on a new chapter of his career after winning a place on the Challenge Tour. The 21-year-old from Sunningdale made the step up to the professional game following an amateur career that included back-to-back victories in the Abu Dhabi Junior Championship (2007/2008), the Peter McEvoy Trophy (2008), and two Walker Cup caps, as well as a semi-final appearance in the 2009 British Amateur. Hodgson, who was part of the GB&I team that beat the USA in the Walker Cup at Royal Aberdeen last October, missed the Challenge Tour’s opening event in India, the Gujarat Kensville Challenge, but is expected to play in the next tournament, which takes place in Colombia from March 8-11. Hodgson is also able to play in the Alps Tour this year, after finishing joint top in the final qualifying held in Italy in November. The highly-rated youngster has been signed to play Wilson clubs, a brand he has used since the age of 10. Doug Wright, European Business Director at Wilson Golf, said: “Stiggy has been in the public eye ever since his junior days, but especially from 2009, when he was the young star of his first Walker Cup match. We’re delighted he’s decided to continue his relationship with Wilson, and hope he enjoys a successful first year on the Challenge Tour with the FG Tour V2 irons.” Hodgson can expect to come up against a large number of golfers from the South East during his travels around the world, including Seve Benson, Luke Goddard, James Heath, Matt Haines, Adam Gee and Benn Barham, who is looking to get back to the main tour following his recent illness.
Belfry up for The Belfry Golf and Hotel Resort – the four-time home of the Ryder Cup –- has been put up for sale. The iconic venue, which hosted the Ryder Cup in 1985, 1989, 1993 and 2002, and was last year named England’s Leading Golf Resort at the 2011 World Travel Awards, is believed to be valued at about £90million. Nigel Gray, managing director of The Belfry, said: “New owners are being sought for The Belfry and we are extremely confident this will prove to be successful. The Belfry is a highly profitable business that has just enjoyed a successful 2011, with figures up on 2010 levels. The team here is
highly experienced and it has very much been business as usual in the last few months, with a very encouraging pipeline of business for the coming months. We are very confident that a sale will be realised and allow The Belfry to continue to develop and grow.” Located 11 miles from Birmingham, the resort includes a 324-bedroom hotel, three golf courses, extensive corporate conference and meeting facilities, a spa and newlyrefurbished leisure club and on-site nightclub, and is the headquarters of the PGA. The Belfry was bought by the Quinn Group in 2005 for £186m and was owned by Sean Quinn Jnr, son of the
former billionaire tycoon Sean Quinn. Mr Quinn Snr declared himself bankrupt in Belfast in December, only for that to be overturned after the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation appealed the decision. The bank secured a bankruptcy declaration against Mr Quinn in the Dublin courts, where an order barring him from running a company will last 12 years rather than two years if imposed by a UK court. The IBRC is also in dispute with some of the Quinn family over ownership of overseas assets. George Nicholas, spokesman for sales agents Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, said: “The Belfry is an iconic golf destination, combining
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