THE
ENGLISH OPEN POSTPONED
The English Open, set to be played at the
St Mellion International Resort in August, will now return to The European
Tour International Schedule in 2011.
Crown Golf, owners of the prestigious St Mellion
International Resort in Cornwall, and The European Tour agreed to the
postponement due to difficulties being experienced by third party developers
engaged in building golf homes on the site.
Stephen Lewis, Chief Executive Officer of
Crown Golf, explained: “We have a long term agreement with The European
Tour to host The English Open but unfortunately like many companies the
credit crunch has created additional challenges for our partners engaged
in developing the golfer’s accommodation at St Mellion.
Crown Golf, the UK’s largest golf course owner/operator,
counts the St Mellion International Resort as the most prestigious venue
among its 34-strong group of golf clubs. A dramatic new logo, featuring
the iconic red and white English flag to emphasis the rich history of
the tournament first played in 1979, has already been unveiled for The
2011 English Open to be played on the superb Jack Nicklaus Signature Course
– the first one built in the UK by Nicklaus and opened in 1988.
THE
COURSE AT ST MELLION
The Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at St Mellion
officially opened in July 1988, so it will be celebrating its 21st birthday
as it hosts the 2009 English Open Golf Championships.
The course at St Mellion is regarded as one
of the finest golf courses in Europe. Jack Nicklaus has designed
many golf courses, however St Mellion's Nicklaus Course in Cornwall was
the first golf course that he designed in the UK and remains one of only
three he has personally designed in England. At 7,000 yards from the tournament
tees, the Nicklaus Course provides a truly outstanding test of golf skills.
St Mellion has had a £100 million redevelopment
of facilities, which includes a new 80 bedroom four star standard hotel,
265 golf homes and refurbished resort facilities in addition to the work
already in progress on the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course.
The course at St Mellion will become the iconic
Cornish venue. George O'Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour, said
"We believe it's the ideal partnership to bring St Mellion International
Resort and The English Open together and we are delighted to be returning
to this wonderful part of the English countryside with the opportunity
of providing a major tourism initiative to further enhance Cornwall's
profile as a beautiful, high quality destination"
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