THE
first Nicklaus-designed golf course in Wales will stage a
major professional tournament only four months after its official
opening next year.
Machynys Peninsula Golf and Country Club near Llanelli has
been selected as the venue for the 2005 Wales Ladies Championship
of Europe, even though the first golf isn't scheduled to be
played at the course until April.
The £350,000 event, which has been held at Royal Porthcawl
for the last four years, will move along the South Wales coast
to Machynys from August 11-14.
The new course - one of only eight Nicklaus-designed courses
in Europe - will welcome top names from the world of women's
golf to compete for the fourth largest prize fund on the Ladies
European Tour.
With the finishing touches now being applied to its 7,100
yards, Machynys Peninsula will be unveiled as a par-72 links-style
championship course in April and will host the women's tournament
from 2005-2008.
Britain's most successful golfer, Laura Davies, has been
a regular visitor for the tournament in the past, alongside
Wales' top golfers, Becky Morgan and Becky Brewerton, who
finished runner-up while still an amateur in 2003.
This year's home challenge will be the strongest yet as qualifying
school graduates Anna Highgate and Kate Phillips join Morgan,
Brewerton and Eleanor Pilgrim on tour.
The Wales Ladies Championship of Europe is once again a key
part of the 2005 Wales Summer of Golf programme, part of the
Ryder Cup 2010 committments.
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