A Cup for Club Professionals
The PGA Cup Matches were first played in 1973 at Pinehurst Country Club, North Carolina as an outgrowth of the PGA Club Professional Championship. Structured after the format of the Ryder Cup Matches, which feature team competition between Europe and the US, the PGA Cup Matches feature the top PGA club professionals from both sides of the Atlantic.
Competition was held annually until 1984, when both counties agreed to hold this event biennially at alternating sites. The teams began with nine players, but the rosters were expanded to 10 in 1988. Qualification for the Great Britain & Ireland team is based upon performance in the Glenmuir PGA Professional Championship.
The Llandudno International Trophy
The Llandudno ('Lan-dud-no') International Trophy was first awarded to England in 1939 after its club professionals won the Home Tournament Series against teams from Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The trophy was packed away and the series was abolished with the outbreak of World War II.
It was retained by former Ryder Cup player Percy Alliss (1929, '31, '33, '35 and '37) who retired the trophy to his personal collection. During the German bombing of London in World War II, the trophy rested on a mantelpiece of the elder Alliss' home. When a tremor from one of the German bombs rumbled through the neighbourhood, the trophy fell off its perch to the floor. The hardware was slightly bent and never straightened, to serve as a reminder of its historical value.
The trophy remained in the Alliss household until 1972 when Percy donated it to be awarded to the victor of the then annual PGA Cup Matches.