This Week in Golf: UAE’s Grenville-Wood looking to kick-start his season on the Challenge Tour

After all the excitement and drama of Xander Schauffele’s Open win at Carnoustie – golf generally returns to a more routine week.

I find it hard to digest that it is 264 days until the next Major on the golfing calendar – The Masters round one on 7th April 2025.

Now that is a Major drought in my eyes!

LIV Golf returns to the UK at JCB Golf and Country Club in Uttoxeter, England. Known as a market town in Staffordshire and for a race course – it is also known for being home to the third largest construction equipment manufacturer JCB. In 1945 the company was founded by Joseph Cyril Bamford – hence the name of the company: JCB.

Designed by Robert Hiseman of European Golf Design and opened as recently as September 2019, – the course measures 7,308 yards from the tips – the mantra was modelled on the TPC Deere Run course in Illinois – which hosts the annual John Deere Classic on the PGA Tour.

Customers and suppliers who visit the company’s site can play the golf course along with employees – but general fee-paying golfers were never the model.

It was always the intention to host professional golf tournaments at JCB – to bring the brand to a wider audience by being tournament-ready. The venue has already hosted professional tournaments on both the Legends Tour as well as the Rose Ladies Series.

The Challenge Tour reaches an interesting stage – the second half of the season – this week is number 16 of 29 events.

The event this week is the Black Desert NI Open presented by Tom McKibben at Galgorm Castle.

Joshue Grenville-Wood (UAE) leads the local UAE interest this week – he currently sits in 50th place in the season long Road to Mallorca Order of Merit – with the top-20 players at the end of this season being promoted to the DP World Tour.

Interesting to see McKibben, a hugely talented golfer - now 103rd in the Official World Golf Ranking supporting the event – and the unusual model of a destination in Utah where ‘ancient lava fields meet vibrant vermillion cliffs of Greater Zion’ being title sponsor of a tournament – rather than merely a supporting venue.

The majestic 600-acre expanse will be home to the Black Desert Championship on the PGA Tour when the play gets underway from October 10-13, 2024. It will also host an LPGA Tour event in 2025. Well done to them for showing innovation in sponsorship.

The Ladies European Tour has a break and their next event in Golf in the Olympics in the second week in August – while the LPGA visits Canada for the CPK Women’s Open.

Schedule

LIV Golf

Friday 26th – Sunday 28th July, 2024

LIV Golf UK

Venue: JCB Golf & Country Club, England

Purse: $25 million

PGA Tour

Thursday 25th – Sunday 28th July, 2024.

3M Open

Venue: TPC Twin Cities, Blaine, Minnesota, US

Purse: $8.1 million

Challenge Tour

Thursday 25th – Sunday 28th July, 2024.

Black Desert NI Open presented by Tom McKibben

Venue: Galgorm Castle GC, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland

• Grenville-Wood, Skaik eye back-to-back Challenge Tour titles in Al Ain and Saadiyat Beach

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