Professional tournament date confirmed for Forest Park Golf Club (From York Press)

Professional tournament date confirmed for Forest Park Golf Club

11:23am Saturday 4th February 2012 in Sport By Tony Kelly, Deputy sports editor

DEEP midwinter descended across York this weekend but thoughts of next July have got Forest Park Golf Club afire.

The club this week received confirmation of the date when they will host their first Yorkshire Professional Golfers’ Association tournament.

The inaugural competition will be played at the Stockton-on-the-Forest-based course on Thursday, July 5.

A one-round tournament over the Old Foss course – the club boasts two circuits over its 27 holes – will see the cream of the county’s players vying for either the Forest Park Cup or the Forest Park Trophy, just a small detail still to be ironed out.

But the even larger boost for the club, which has only been open for two decades is that the event is being earmarked to be part of the club’s annual programme of competitive tournaments.

Said Mark Winterburn, head professional at Forest Park: “The July 5 tournament is being held with a view to it becoming an annual feature here, so that is great news for the club and for everyone who puts in such a lot of hard work to keep the course in great condition.

“We have had top Yorkshire Union events before where the best York players have played. But to have 60 or 70 of the leading pros from across Yorkshire competing is a huge lift for the club.

“It gives Forest Park an even higher profile and we are all eagerly looking forward to July.”

ENGLISH ladies’ golf – honed by the expert training of Sandburn Hall GC head professional Steve Robinson – is on the upswing.

No fewer than four English girls gained their European professional tour cards at last month’s qualifying school with three others awarded conditional cards – meaning that they were all among the top 52 in the final stages of qualifying.

And the first provisional Curtis Cup squad features five English girls.

Said a delighted Robinson: “Over the last 18 months the national ladies’ game has undergone a big change in structure. And we are now seeing the benefits of all that hard work.”

Among the new Ladies European Tour players are Catterick Garrison GC ace Jody Ewart, who finished in first place in the final round of qualifying at La Manga in Spain, and Charlotte Ellis, whom national women’s coach Robinson has coached for the last three years.

He also hailed the sterling work done by York GC’s former European tour player Kirsty Taylor, who continues to add refinements to Ellis’ game. “Kirsty’s done a great job with Charlotte,” he said.

Robinson was just as pleased about the Curtis Cup selection, adding: “To have five England girls in the squad, plus one reserve, is a major bonus.”