HERTFORDSHIRE, England – Oct. 25, 2004 – The Grove in Hertfordshire, England is delighted to be selected to host the prestigious 2006 American Express World Golf Championship. For the first time ever, the world's 64 leading golfers including Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, Colin Montgomerie, Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke will be together in the UK.

Located just outside the center of London, the former home of the Earls of Clarendon has been transformed into a contemporary country estate with an outstanding 18 hole golf course, a 5-star luxury hotel and spa, surrounded by 300-acres of private grounds.

The magnificent golf course, the work of Kyle Phillips, quickly received unanimous praise. The legendary Gary Player played the course this summer and commented: "The Grove is without doubt one of the finest facilities I have ever seen anywhere in the world".

This week it was also announced that The Grove is the recipient of the much coveted AA Hotel of the Year Award For England 2004-05 and earlier this year the hotel received the ultimate seal of approval from both sides of the Atlantic, when it was awarded a place in Conde Nast Traveller magazine's Hot List of the best new hotels in the world - in both the UK and the USA. Both editions of the magazine cited The Grove's spectacular contemporary "groovy grand" interior design, its luxurious and comprehensive facilities, and its location just 18 miles from Central London and 30 minutes from London Heathrow.

Chris Andrews, Commercial Director of The Grove, said: "It is an incredible honour to have the opportunity to welcome the best players in the world to The Grove. On behalf of everyone at The Grove, I should like to thank American Express, The PGA Tour and the European Tour for selecting us. We will rise to the challenge, to ensure that the 2006 American Express Championships will be memorable on and off the course, so that all those involved will enjoy what has become known throughout the world of golf as 'The Grove Experience'."

Press information:
GOLF AT THE GROVE:
Helen McDonnell, Complete Golf PR
Tel: + 44 (0) 1245 256802
lucindabuxton_mangopr@hotmail.com