Good year for Gleneagles

Oct 22 2010 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

CHRIS Doak’s dramatic play-off triumph in the Gleneagles Scottish PGA Championship has capped another year of top class tournament golf for the Perthshire resort.

Doak’s victory over the King’s Course clinched the Tartan Tour’s flagship event and brought the curtain down on what Gleneagles general manager Bernard Murphy has called a “special” year for the venue, which has become home of the PGA National Academy for Scotland.

In addition to the 12th successive staging of the Scottish PGA Championship, the resort also played host to the European Tour’s Johnnie Walker Championship and the Junior Ryder Cup between Europe and the United States.

“Hosting championship golf on the King’s Course once again has been very special for us at Gleneagles,” said Murphy.

“The history and tradition of the King’s Course is unique and as such it deserves to be associated with the showpiece event on the Tartan Tour which lived up to its billing with four days of superb golf capped by a brilliant victory for Chris Doak.

“Reflecting on the 2010 season, it has been a special year both on and off the course and we look forward to building on those successes in 2011.”

One of the most exciting developments for Gleneagles has been the decision to make it the PGA National Academy for Scotland, which locally based Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie has lauded as a welcome and much-needed initiative to grow the game in the country.

The addition of the PGA National Academy, which will also see the Wee Course become the PGA Academy Course, is set to help boost Scottish golf as Gleneagles counts down the years until the staging of the 2014 Ryder Cup on the PGA Centenary Course.

Murphy added: “The PGA National Academy at Gleneagles together with the enhanced use and status of the PGA National Academy Course will provide a very inspiring backdrop for the next generation of golfers and coaches who will be training there.

“It is one of many important grass roots initiatives being put in place to ensure we grow the game in Scotland and capitalise on the benefits of hosting the Ryder Cup.”