The Leaderboard Group, the owner of The Oxfordshire, has announced its intention to bring the 2011 Solheim Cup to England for the first time. Leaderboard will register its official bid with the Ladies’ European Tour (LET) for The Oxfordshire Golf Club to host the matchplay event involving the cream of Europe and America’s golfers.
The bid from the Leaderboard Groupis the first to be submitted officially as the race to stage the Solheim Cup starts in earnest. All bids must be received by the LET by May and a host venue will be chosen in January 2007.
David Walls, the sales and marketing director for the Leaderboard Group, said, “We are the first to state our intention that we want to bring the Solheim Cup to the heart of England.
“European ladies’ golf is a growing concern and is becoming more and more popular and more and more fashionable – something we have first-hand experience of having hosted the Ladies’ English Open successfully at Chart Hills for the past three years.
“Leaderboard is throwing its full weight behind the Solheim Cup bid and aims to use all its vast expertise to bring the tournament to England for the first time.”
The Oxfordshire is no stranger to hosting major championships, having successfully staged four Benson & Hedges Internationals, the Anderson Consulting World Championship and the Ladies’ English Open in the 1990s.
More recently, the Rees Jones-designed creation near Thame has hosted leading seniors tour and amateur strokeplay championships.
Walls added, “The Oxfordshire is a magnificent golf club with an enviable reputation and has the capability on and off the course to host the very best tournaments in golf – and the Solheim Cup certainly comes into that category as arguably the jewel in the crown of the Ladies’ European Tour and the United States-based Ladies Professional Golfers’ Association.
“It’s the biggest and best matchplay event in the world in the ladies’ game and we will do everything in our power to ensure that the 2011 Solheim Cup comes to The Oxfordshire.”
The Oxfordshire www.theoxfordshiregolfclub.com
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