Seven top golf courses have been lined up to host this year’s International Pairs UK semi-finals.
Qualifiers will tackle leading Scottish courses Downfield, Ladybank, Blairgowrie, Cardrona, Alyth and Letham Grange in a bid to reach the UK final at Carnoustie in October.
One semi-final will be played south of the border – at The Players Club, near Bristol.
The announcement of this year’s semi-final venues continues a strong tradition of top quality courses associated with the International Pairs – the annual betterball Stableford competition which is run in association with VisitScotland.
Classy Downfield hosts final qualifying for this year’s Open Championship at Carnoustie, while Ladybank boasts the same honour when The Open is held at the Old Course at St Andrews.
Blairgowrie has two championship courses – the Rosemount and Lansdowne, with the latter being used for the International Pairs semi-finals, Cardrona is an impressive Macdonald Hotels-owned complex set in the Borders, Alyth is a challenging heathland course in Perth & Kinross, and beautiful Letham Grange in Angus is often described as the ‘Augusta of Scotland’.
The Players Club, which was built on the outskirts of Bristol in 2002, is the longest golf course in the UK at an astonishing 7,600 yards off the back tees.
Ross Honey, the founder of the International Pairs, said: “In keeping with a prestigious competition which attracts thousands of amateur golfers from all over the UK every year, we have secured seven first-rate golf courses to stage this year’s semi-finals.
“The International Pairs continues to grow at a phenomenal rate in the UK and abroad, and securing venues like Ladybank and Downfield, which host final qualifying for the Open Championship, can only serve to enhance the event’s reputation even further.”
Forty pairs who qualify from the seven semi-finals will line up in the 2007 International Pairs UK final at Carnoustie on October 16-17 – just three months after the world’s leading golfers have trodden the same hallowed turf in the battle for the famed Claret Jug.
This year’s semi-final dates are:
August 19-20: The Players Club, Bristol
September 23-24: Cardrona
October 14-15: Ladybank, Blairgowrie, Downfield, Letham Grange & Alyth.
The winners of the UK final will represent their country in next year’s International Pairs World Final at Fairmont St Andrews.
The International Pairs has been backed by VisitScotland for the last five years – and the national Scottish tourist body has committed to be the tournament’s main sponsor until at least 2008.
To enter the International Pairs, or to register a club, please call 0870 0330633 or 01730 711900, or e-mail info@internationalpairs.com. Alternatively, visit the Pairs’ website at www.internationalpairs.com.
Information for media: Issued by the International Pairs press office. For more details, please contact Andy Tremlett on 07775 842716, Pete Simm on 07747 012539, or David Garlant on 0792 9095939, or e-mail media@internationalpairs.com.
