King Courts Moortown Success

Published: 19 May 2009

Glenmuir PGA Professional Championship Press Release

John King has good reason to be seeking redemption when he returns to Moortown on Monday (June 1).

Eleven years as head pro at the famed Lindrick club near Worksop, King will be one of 84 players bidding to reach the final of the flagship event for Britain and Ireland’s top club professionals, the Glenmuir PGA Professional Championship, being played at Dundonald Links, near Troon, from June 16-19.

In last year’s 72-hole final, coincidentally at Moortown, King had manoeuvred himself into a challenging position by the halfway mark.

“I was doing pretty well in the third round when torrential rain flooded the course,” he recalled. “I had only two-and-a-half holes to play, and when I finished my round the next morning I dropped three shots.

“Then on the last hole of the final round, I ran up a triple-bogey seven after hitting my six-iron second shot out of bounds, and my next into a greenside bunker.”

King, who turns 50 at the end of this year and has his eyes on the potential booty available on the European Seniors Tour, also has one remaining ambition.

“I’ve always fancied the idea of playing in the PGA Cup against the Americans (selection for which is by way of a pointage system in the Glenmuir championship), but I’ve always fallen short.  I think the closest I came was at County Louth near Dublin in 2001, where I had three rounds in the 60’s and still finished 10th.”

A place in the first seven or eight in Scotland might just see him in the 10-man team to tee up in September at Carrick-at-Cameron House on the shores of Loch Lomond.

Not only is the Moortown field a sizeable one, it also has talent galore.  Among the others with their eyes on the 18 qualifying places should be Nick Ludwell (Selby), John Harrison (Matfen Hall), Simon Edwards (Windermere), Gary Brown (Ganton) – all finalists last year - and Adrian Ambler (Walton Golf Centre).

The winner at Dundonald Links receives £10,000, and the leading 10 finishers are exempt into final qualifying for the 2010 Open at St Andrews.

This will be a record 17 years’ sponsorship by the Scottish golfwear manufacturers.“The start of the Glenmuir PGA Professional Championship always marks the start of the tournament season for PGA pros, and we’re really enjoying the standards in this year’s qualifying finals,” said the company’s marketing director Andy Bough.

“Now more than ever the Glenmuir Championship offers professionals the chance to compete with fellow professionals, but also to meet and share views and ideas on current trading. We hope all of the competitors will enjoy this year’s tournament.”

Notes to editors:

The Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) has been at the forefront of developing professional golf and promoting interest in the game since it was formed in 1901.  Based at The Belfry, it has seven regional offices, represents 7,500 qualified professionals working in more than 60 countries worldwide and annually organises more than 900 golf tournaments and events. The PGA is also the trustee of the Ryder Cup Trophy and a partner in Ryder Cup Ltd.

Glenmuir is a brand right at the heart of golf. Preferred supplier to the European Ryder Cup team for 20 years, it also enjoys partnerships with The PGA, the PGAs of Europe, The European Tour, The Open Championship, and the English Golf Union. Glenmuir is official clothing supplier to the Golf Foundation, Ryder Cup Wales 2010, the SLGA, and the Golf Union of Wales.