Cathy Panton-Lewis has been selected to captain the Great Britain & Ireland team for the 2024 Women’s PGA Cup at Sunriver Resort in Oregon, USA.
The Scot, who was one of the founding members of the Ladies European Tour, will be calling upon her wealth of experience in more than 30 years of competing at the highest level of the game when she takes the Great Britain & Ireland team to Oregon for the third instalment of the team competition from 1–5 October, 2024.
The 68-year-old won the inaugural LET Order of Merit in 1979 and amassed 14 wins spanning four decades in her career. She was still making headlines as recently as 2018 when she made the cut in the US Senior Women’s Open, earning her the honour of PGA South Region Player of the Year.
“It was a great surprise when I got the phone call,” said Panton-Lewis, who made the cut at last year’s US Senior Women’s Open. “I’m absolutely thrilled to have been asked to captain the Great Britain & Ireland team in the USA next year. I have no doubt that we’ll have some quite formidable opponents but we’ve certainly got some exceptional players too, so it will be an exciting competition.”
The Women’s PGA Cup, only in its third year, is a biennial contest which features PGA Professionals from Australia, Canada, Great Britain & Ireland, South Africa, Sweden and the United States.
Each team will feature five PGA qualified members, who compete over three days. The international event is played over 54 holes as stroke play with each team’s lowest three scores counted after each round. The winners are the team with the lowest 54-hole aggregate total.
Great Britain & Ireland narrowly missed out on victory in 2022, going into the final 9-holes with the lead, but eventually losing out to the PGA of America. Panton-Lewis will be delighted if they go one better in 2024.
“I’m really looking forward to next year’s Women’s PGA Cup. I’ve been a PGA Member for a long time. In fact, I just got my 40 years certificate in the post a few weeks ago, so being announced as Captain of the Great Britain & Ireland team means a lot to me.”
“It would be fantastic to win,” added Panton-Lewis, the daughter of the late John Panton, MBE, who was a professional golfer who played on three Ryder Cup teams. “Especially on American mainland. I’m not sure the other teams would be pleased but we certainly would be.
“My late Dad, who is sadly no longer with us, would have been proud of me. He always taught me to stay calm and focused under pressure and most importantly don’t beat yourself up if the putts don’t drop. Never let your opponents see any weakness.”
Commenting on Panton-Lewis’ selection as Captain, Robert Maxfield, Chief Executive of The PGA, added: “We are thrilled to announce Cathy as our Captain for next year’s Women’s PGA Cup.
“Cathy’s knowledge and experience in golf will be a huge asset for Great Britain & Ireland as we continue our involvement in this exciting team competition for female PGA Professionals.
“The popularity and stature of the Women’s PGA Cup continues to grow with each staging of the event. This is the pinnacle for all female PGA Professionals and the third installment of the event will once again showcase the quality and skill of all female golf professionals.
“We look forward to seeing who will qualify for Cathy’s team over the next 12 months and we are all very excited to see the event head to the Sunriver Resort in Oregon for the first time.”