Slaley Hall has been handed an unexpected opportunity to end the season in style after being chosen to host the grand finale of Europe’s leading developmental golf tour, the PGA EuroPro Tour.
The 2021 Matchroom Tour Championship, which was originally scheduled to be held at Club de Golf Alcanada, Mallorca, will now take place on Slaley Hall’s renowned Hunting Course from October 20-22.
A challenging test, the Northumberland course is well-known for its tree-lined fairways and undulating greens and includes the likes of Lee Westwood, Colin Montgomerie and Retief Goosen among its illustrious list of previous winners.
Often referred to as the “Augusta of the North”, Slaley Hall – which is part of The QHotels Group – is the ideal replacement host for the Tour Championship, as the EuroPro Tour delays its visit to Mallorca until 2022.
Daniel Godding, PGA EuroPro Tour CEO, said: “We are exceptionally sad not to be visiting the wonderful coastline of Mallorca and the phenomenal venue that is Alcanada in 2021. We thank Alcanada for all the preparations they have made to welcome us, and we look forward to visiting the golf course in 2022.
“We are delighted to be offering such a high-profile course and one of the UK’s best golf venues in replacement of Club de Golf Alcanada for this year’s tournament.”
Keith Pickard, The QHotels Group’s golf, leisure, and spa director, said: “We are incredibly proud that Slaley Hall will be hosting such a fantastic, and usually hotly contested tournament, and we thank the PGA EuroPro Tour for the opportunity to show off all that the course and facilities have to offer.
“It is a great shame that the tour is unable to visit Alcanada, but we will ensure, with the help of the wonderful staff at Slaley Hall, that everyone is offered a fantastic event to conclude the season, with golf that challenges the players and views that amaze the fans.”
Managed by The QHotels Group, the UK’s largest golf resort operator, Slaley Hall is considered one of the best courses in the North of England, with its spectacular surroundings and fantastic facilities.
Set in 1,000 acres of Northumberland moorland and forest, the venue boasts a magnificent four-star hotel in an elegant Edwardian mansion, with two challenging championship courses – the Hunting and the Priestman – which have played host to no fewer than 18 European Tour and European Senior Tour events.
The 7,000-yard, par-72 Hunting Course, designed by Dave Thomas, has lush sweeping fairways, streams, lakes, towering trees, and banks of rhododendrons – but aesthetics aside, it will catch out the unwary. Well-placed bunkers and tricky greens make this USGA standard course a real challenge.
The Priestman Course was designed by Neil Coles and opened in 1999. Beautifully maintained, the course has matured magnificently. It sits on the west side of the estate, with panoramic views of the Tyne Valley and some daunting water features, and wind can be a factor on a course which hosts regularly European seniors’ events.
The QHotels Group manages seven top golf resorts in England and Scotland: Belton Woods, in Grantham, Lincolnshire; Dunston Hall, in Norwich; Oulton Hall, Leeds; Slaley Hall, in Hexham, Northumberland; Telford Hotel & Golf Resort, in Shropshire; DoubleTree by Hilton Forest Pines Spa & Golf Resort, in Brigg; and DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Westerwood Spa & Golf Resort.
www.slaleyhallhotel.com l www.qhotels.co.uk/golf | www.almarosehotels.com
