Lilly counting down to ‘special’ PGA Cup debut

11/09/2022

Simon Lilly believes Great Britain & Ireland have a strong enough team to win back the Llandudno International Trophy when they face America in the 30^th PGA Cup at Foxhills Club & Resort from 16-18^th September, 2022.

Lilly is one of seven debutants in David Russell’s team and qualified after his performances in the 2021 and 2022 PGA Professional Championship.

The 45-year-old, who is based at Wellingborough Golf Club, is relishing playing in a team format and is looking forward to playing under GB&I Captain Russell.

“DJ (David Russell) is a great guy,” said Lilly. “He’s been around the team environment at a Ryder Cup so he’ll be really good for all of us. He’s a Midland region player so I’ve played in a lot of pro-ams and PGA events with him so I’ve known him for a while.

“Playing in a PGA Cup and representing Great Britain & Ireland will be fantastic. It will rank very high in my professional career. It’s a great format and one I’ve never played in before so it’ll be a first for me and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and this will be the first time I’ve done it so it will be a really good experience.

“It will be a great experience representing The PGA along with DJ (David Russell) and his son (Chris Russell). It will be a special week.”

First played in 1973, the PGA Cup is a biennial contest between the PGA of Great Britain & Ireland and America. Widely regarded as the pinnacle of a PGA Professional’s career, the winner of the Ryder Cup style format at week’s end at Foxhills will win the famous Llandudno International Trophy. The USA are this year’s defending champions after defeating GB&I 14-12 at Barton Creek Resort, Texas in 2019.

Lilly is one of four PGA Cup players based in the Midlands along with Adam Keogh (Woodhall Spa Golf Club), Daniel Whitby-Smith (Drayton Park Golf Club) and Matthew Cort (Beedles Lake Golf Club).

“I know most of the lads,” Lilly continued. “We all play in a lot of PGA events so we’re always playing against each other anyway so it will be nice to be playing in a team environment and there’s nobody in the team I don’t know so it will be good.

“The team looks really strong. We’ve got a nice mix of people who can hit the ball a long way and we’ve got fairway finders, but I think we’ve got a really good mix and I think getting the partnerships right is really key, but overall we have a strong team.”

Asked how he will prepare for such a big occasion, where Lilly could be asked to play five matches across three days, he added: “I’ll be playing in a lot of regional events in the build up to the PGA Cup. I’ll try and keep playing as much as possible leading up to it and hopefully stay fresh because it’s going to be a long week!”

CLICK HERE to find out more about the 2022 PGA Cup.