McDonnell motivated by past PGA Cup disappointment

02/09/2017

Mcdonnell

Missing out on an unforgettable trip to America for the 2015 PGA Cup was difficult to take for Christopher McDonnell.

The PGA Professional, based at Golf At Goodwood in West Sussex, could be forgiven for thinking he had all but guaranteed his place in the Great Britain & Ireland team after winning the PGA Professional Championship the year before.

But McDonnell missed out on a place in Jon Bevan’s team by just half a point and it was a big blow for the former Challenge Tour player.

As Bevan’s side made history in California by becoming the first GB & Ireland team to win the PGA Cup on American soil, McDonnell could only watch on from back home.

But two years later the dream of representing his country will become a reality at Foxhills Resort in September.

After finishing runner-up at the PGA Professional Championship in Ireland last month, McDonnell will finally get to wear the GB & Ireland colours.

“It was a bit disappointing to have missed out on the trip to America having won the PGA Professional Championship in 2014,” said McDonnell.

“I missed out last time by half a point so that was disappointing. So the monkey is off my back now and I’ve got some unfinished business.

“The two biggest things you can do as PGA Professional are winning the PGA Professional Championship and playing in the PGA Cup and I will have done both.”

“It’s what your practice for and it’s why you turn into a PGA Professional. Okay you want to teach and ultimately make some money, but playing-wise it doesn’t get much bigger than the PGA Cup.”Asked how much he is looking forward to playing for his country against America on home soil, McDonnell continued: “It’s something you can look back on in your career as one of the biggest highlights.

McDonnell played on the Challenge Tour and was also a winner on the Alps Tour too, but his biggest achievement in golf so far came in 2014 when he won the coveted PGA Professional Championship at Blairgowrie in Scotland.

He will be joined by 2016 winner David Higgins in what is a very experienced ten-man GB & Ireland team led by Albert MacKenzie.

The line-up also includes no fewer than eight players with European Tour experience, including Damien McGrane, Philip Archer and Garry Houston.

Greig Hutcheon, Matthew Cort and Rob Coles had already booked their place at Foxhills having qualified through the PGA Play-Offs last year. They will be joined by Andrew Raitt and the youngest member of the team Christopher Currie.

“We’ve got a really experienced team,” McDonnell added. “We’ve got a few players who have just recently finished playing on tour and we’ve got the likes of myself and a couple of other rookies.

“So it’s a good mix of players and I think we’ve got a really strong team on paper. We’ve got a meeting at the end of July and I imagine the team spirit will start to build then.

“Albert (MacKenie) seems like a really nice chap. It’s the first time I met him in Ireland. He followed me around the course and was giving me a lot of encouragement.

“He’s delighted to have me in the team and I can’t wait to play for him.”

For more information about the PGA Cup and to follow all the action and live scoring from Foxhills from September 15-17 click here.

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