Chris Kelly ready to defend Northern Open
title at Royal Dornoch next week
title at Royal Dornoch next week
PGA IN SCOTLAND
PRESS RELEASE
Chris Kelly is looking forward to defending his Northern Open title on a course he reckons is one of the best in Britain.
He is referring to
Royal Dornoch, where the Tartan Tour event is being held from June 21 to 24 as part of
celebrations to mark 400 years of golf at the Sutherland venue.
It will be the ninth time the Northern Open has visited Royal Dornoch but first since 1994.
Past Northern Open champions at the venue include three former Ryder Cup players in Eric Brown, John Panton and Harry Bannerman.
David Huish also claimed the title at Dornoch, as did Ewan Murray, who is now the lead golf commentator for Sky Sports.
"The Northern Open was
fantastic last year because I played so well to win against some very
good players on a very good course," said Kelly of his triumph at Cruden
Bay. "Also, I hadn't won it before, so it was a win checked off the
list.
"Now I'm really looking
forward to defending the title and, while I've never played too well
round Royal Dornoch, I always enjoy playing on what I think is one of
the best courses in Britain."
Kelly's title rivals
include two-time European Tour winner Alastair Forsyth, former PGA
champion Andrew Oldcorn and PGA Cup-winning team-mates Gareth Wright and
Graham Fox.
Also in the field are
2010 champion Greig Hutcheon, this year's Silversea Senior PGA
Professional Championship winner Robert Arnott and the O'Hara brothers -
Paul and Steven.
Paul got his 2016
campaign off to a flying start with victory in the P and H Championship,
the opening Order of Merit event on the Tartan Tour, at The Renaissance
Club in East Lothian last month.
"Paul is definitely one
of the contenders to win the Order of Merit this year," acknowledged
Kelly, who holds that title after he won both the Northern Open and
Gleneagles Scottish PGA Championship last year. "But then there are a
lot of very good players who are more than capable of winning the Order
of Merit title.
"My own golf has been a
bit patchy so far this year but hopefully things are starting to come
together and I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks at Royal
Dornoch and Lossiemouth (venue for the Aberdeen Asset Management
Scottish Open qualifier on July 2-3)."
Heather MacRae, who
recently recorded a top-10 finish in the Hong Kong Ladies Open, returns
to Tartan Tour action in the event while, as always, the field also
includes a number of amateurs, the majority on this occasion
representing the host club.
"Royal Dornoch is
delighted to be hosting the Northern Open for the first time since
1994," said the club's general manager, Neil Hampton.
"The club is committed to the game of golf and shows this in many ways, one of which is hosting the most prestigious events.
"The Northern Open has a long and proud history and many of the game’s greats have won the event at Royal Dornoch.
"Eric Brown, John
Panton, Harry Bannerman and David Huish are familiar names along with
golf commentator Ewan Murray and Elgin-born Kevin Stables, the winner in
1994.
"With a list such as
this we are sure whoever wins in 2016 will be a worthy champion and
someone with a bright future in the game.
"Everyone at Royal Dornoch looks forward to seeing what today’s professionals can do on our Championship links."
Shona Malcolm, the PGA
in Scotland secretary, added: "It's a privilege to be holding the
Northern Open at Royal Dornoch this year, contributing to the 400 years
of golf celebrations.
"The strength of the
field shows the regard in which the professionals hold this venue, and
there's no doubt that we'll see a deserving champion over these
challenging links."
Labels: Tartan Tour
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home