2026 Platinum
If golfers have ever wondered how their club Pro performs in the heat of competition, then this year’s Glenmuir PGA Professional Championship is the prefect opportunity to find out.
For the patient pros who spend hours every week ironing out high-handicap hooks and slices, the event is their flagship tournament and up to 600 will take part in eight regional qualifiers this year, with a field of 156 going on to compete in the final.
And with the final being staged at the historic Moortown Golf Club, Leeds, on July 29-August 1 (the first place the Ryder Cup was played on British soil) the championship has added spice.
Glenmuir Marketing Director Andy Bough said: “Holding the final at Moortown is great news and will provide a fantastic backdrop to what is the best-known event in the calendar for professionals.”
Golfers who want to see their local pro in action, can attend qualifying events at:
- Hadley Wood Golf Club - Monday 21 April;
- Burnham & Berrow Golf Club - Monday 28 April;
- Little Aston Golf Club - Wednesday 30 April;
- County Louth Golf Club - Wednesday 7 May;
- Moortown Golf Club - Monday 19 May;
- Hindhead Golf Club - Thursday 22 May;
- Blairgowrie Golf Club - Monday 2 June;
- West Lancashire Golf Club - Monday 9 June.
And meanwhile here are 18 things you never knew about the Glenmuir PGA Professional Championship.
• The winner receives exemption into the PGA BMW Championship and exemption from Regional Qualifying at The Open.
• The English team for the PGAs of Europe International Team Championship is determined via the Championship.
• The winner of the Final receives £10,000 from a total championship prize fund of £78,000.
• Each regional qualifier winner gets £250 and a cut-glass trophy from sponsors Glenmuir.
• The home of this year’s final, Moortown GC, Leeds, played host to the first-ever Ryder Cup on UK soil in 1929.
• This year, the final takes place from July 29 to August 1 – a switch from its traditional mid June slot – to allow the regional qualifiers to take place in better weather.
• 156 golfers qualify for the four-round strokeplay final, with the top 50 after two rounds making the cut.
• Glenmuir, one of Europe’s leading golf apparel brands, has sponsored the event for 16 years, and is the event’s longest-running sponsor.
• Around 600 PGA professionals will take part in the championships, which is staged over eight regional qualifiers and a grand final.
• The event has had a name change this year. The word ‘Club’ has been dropped to reflect the fact that Pros have many other jobs in the golf industry apart from cub professionals.
• There are eight regional qualifiers, with Hadley Wood GC (East), Burnham & Berrow GC (West), Hindhead GC (West), Moortown (North East) and Blairgowrie (Scotland) staging qualifying events for the first time.
• As part of the sponsorship agreement, the leading Glenmuir account holder in each qualifier is rewarded with a £500 credit voucher - if they are wearing Glenmuir clothing on the day!
• The PGA Professional Championship was first played in 1973, and the final at Calcot Park GC was won by Doug Sewell.
• Others to have followed in Sewell's footsteps include Bill Ferguson, mentor to Colin Montgomerie; David Huish, David Jones, a three time winner, and Sky pundit Brian Barnes who won at Prince's in 1989.
• The event has added significance because through a points system it decides the Great Britain & Ireland team to play America in the PGA Cup - the club pros’ equivalent of the Ryder Cup.
• The championship has been played at some of golf's most famous courses - including Royal Birkdale, Turnberry, Royal St David's, Carnoustie and Prince's, reflecting the prestige and standing of the tournament.
• Golfers in the final will face a couple of significant improvements to the Moortown course – a remodelled par 3 17th and a redesigned fairway bunker on the 15th designed to catch long-hitters.
• Brian Rimmer, who won at Northop Country Park in 1997, has the final’s lowest-ever score of 268.