Bembridge back to defend at Thorpeness

Former Tour stalwart Maurice Bembridge will defend his PGA Super 60s title at picturesque Thorpeness Golf Club from August 14-15.

The four-time Ryder Cup player, who once held the lowest score record at Augusta National, will tee off alongside Michael Curley as one of 39 pairs playing in the 36-hole betterball event.

The duo won the title last year by one shot ahead of Northumberland-based pro Graham Cant and his Glasgow partner Jim Armstrong who will also return to action this year.

Host pro Frank Hill finished in a share of third, and he will also hope to stake a claim to a share of the £10,000 prize fund over a course which is famous for its House in the Clouds.

The James Braid-designed layout has benefited from many changes in the past three years with a bunker programme seeing a dozen new ones and some of the original ones reshaped.

Former winners of the PGA Super 60s include Ryder Cup player Lionel Platts  who won with David Dupree in 1996. He will be among those hoping to win the Superb Seventies Trophy introduced for players aged 70 and over.

PGA head of tournaments, Simon Higginbottom, said: "The PGA Super 60s is a popular event for our older members and we're delighted to be returning to Thorpeness which rightly has a reputation for being an outstanding course and venue.

"The PGA works hard to provide playing opportunities across its membership and this event in particular is going from strength to strength.

"The opportunity for members to catch up with old friends from a lifetime in golf is one of the great attractions of the event but the competitive spirit still burns brightly and the 36 holes are always keenly contested."

Thorpeness is a par 69 coastal heath land course 6,300 yards long that winds through silver birch, pine trees, gorse and heather with the famous 'House in the Clouds' feature that can be seen behind the 18th green. It is a converted water tower that appears to float in the skyline.

It is the seventh different club to host the event since it was launched in 1994. Previous venues have been Selsdon Park, Rudding Park, Lindrick, Forest Pines, Blackwell and De Vere Belton Woods.