Star field for Cornish Festival

Ryder Cup players, European and Seniors Tour winners, as well as the leading 30 players in last year’s West Region PGA Order of Merit, are competing in the annual PGA Cornish Festival next week.

"This is the best field ever assembled,” said tournament controller Tom Sheffield who is supervising the largest pro-am in England with more than 400 competitors playing 54 holes over three days.

The flagship PGA in England and Wales (South West) event is based as usual at the prestigious Trevose Golf and Country Club, near Padstow, and again features the classic championship St Enodoc links. Both courses have staged major national tournaments.

The third venue this year will be the cliff-top Carlyon Bay Golf Club at St Austell which is being included for the first time.

Teams of one professional and three amateurs play at each venue over the three days from April 19-21 while the reception and presentations take place at Trevose.

Paul Broadhurst and Phillip Price, who finished first and second last year, previous winner Peter Baker and Steven Richardson, are all Ryder Cup players. Former PGA champion Scott Drummond from Plymouth, Andrew Sherborne (Trevose), John Bickerton (Minehead & West Somerset), David Dixon (Enmore Park), Gary Emerson (Remedy Oak) and George Ryall (The Players Club) are European winners from the West.

Other successful European Tour players include Stuart Little (Minchinhampton), Sion Bebb (Morlais Castle), Liam Bond (St Pierre), Paul Mayo (Pontnewydd) and Richard Dinsdale (Asbri Golf).

Jon Bevan, last year’s PGA Cup captain who has now returned West to Sherborne Golf Club, former National Assistants champion Matthew Cort (Beedles Lake) and Chris Gane (Lefthandedgolf.co.uk at at Silvermere), who led the winning team on his debut, are also in the field.

Bath’s Laurie Canter (Cumberwell Park) is another European Tour representative. He returns with three amateurs Andy Carter, Shane Rowe and Johnny Grace who won the team prize last year.

A regular notable visitor is former England international and Sky TV football pundit Matt Le Tissier, above, as a member of Hampshire PGA Professional Ben Johnson’s team for a number of years. He returns after missing last year’s event because of a shoulder injury.

Previous winner James Ruth (China Fleet), former PGA Cup player Chris Gill (Newquay), Richard O’Hanlon (St Kew) and Richard Sadler (Killiow) will lead the local challenge from Cornwall.