Gleneagles Country Club to Host America's Only 2011 British Open Qualifier

PLANO, Texas, May 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Gleneagles Country Club, a member of the ClubCorp family of clubs, will host, for the third consecutive year, the only International Final Qualifying (IFQ) event in America May 23. The event, which will take place on the Queen's Course, features a field of 78 players – including some of the best in the world – competing in over 36 holes during one day's play for eight qualifying spots.

The IFQ event is open to the public and takes place on the Monday after the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial in Fort Worth and prior to the HP Byron Nelson Championship in Irving, allowing many of the top players to compete in the event between PGA Tour tournaments.

Players scheduled to compete in the event as of May 6 include Brandt Snedeker, Anthony Kim, Bill Haas, Aaron Baddeley, Rory Sabbatini, Ricky Barnes, Sergio Garcia, Stuart Appleby, and Heath Slocum.

The IFQ events, held by the R&A, the organization responsible for the world's golf rules and the organizer of the British Open Championship, were started in 2004 and are held on five continents to give more players from around the world the opportunity to compete in the British Open Championship, one of golf's four Majors. The 140th British Open is July 14-17, 2011, at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent, in England.

"Gleneagles' past support has been instrumental in the success of this great event and led to the R&A's decision to return to Gleneagles for an unprecedented third year in a row," stated Mickey Wszolek, Gleneagles' general manager. "The IFQ players will benefit from our greatly enhanced driving range and new short-game practice facilities – some of the best in the DFW area – and the recently renovated first tee, all of which have been added since the event was first held here in 2009. We're looking forward to another great field and an exciting day of golf."  

The IFQ has been held in America since 2004 at such prestigious venues as Congressional Country Club, Oakland Hills Country Club and TPC of Dearborn.  For more information, visit www.opengolf.com or for information on how to attend this event, please contact Gleneagles at 972.867.6666.

About Gleneagles Country Club

Gleneagles Country Club is a private club located in the community of West Plano, Texas. Established in 1985, the club maintains a strong family environment, which provides outstanding golf, great tennis, fitness and exceptional dining. Amenities include a beautifully appointed clubhouse, 36 holes of championship golf designed by the team of Von Hagge and Devlin, a driving range, a short game practice area, and three putting greens. The club also features 18 lighted outdoor hard tennis courts and four swimming pools. Visit the club's Web site at www.gleneaglesclub.com for more information.

About ClubCorp

Dallas-based ClubCorp USA, Inc. is The World Leader in Private Clubs®. Since its founding in 1957, ClubCorp has operated with the central purpose of Building Relationships and Enriching the Lives® of its members. ClubCorp owns or operates a network of more than 150 golf and country clubs, business clubs, sports clubs, and alumni clubs in 25 states, the District of Columbia and two foreign countries that serve over 350,000 members, with more than 14,000 peak-season employees. ClubCorp properties include: Firestone Country Club (Akron, Ohio); Mission Hills Country Club (Rancho Mirage, California); Capital Club Beijing; and Metropolitan Club Chicago.

Media Contact:
Elizabeth Cheek
Hill & Knowlton
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SOURCE ClubCorp