MARCO AND SOPHIE DEFEND THE SUNNINGDALE FOURSOMES

Sophie Lamb and Marco Penge

Marco Penge leads a team of five players who will represent Golf At Goodwood at the prestigious Sunningdale Foursomes on 14 – 17 March. Penge will once again play alongside England Golf's Sophie Lamb, with whom he won the tournament last year.

Two other Golf At Goodwood ambassadors, Toby Tree and Holly Aitchison, will also line up for the club. General Manager Stuart Gillett and Academy Manager Chris McDonnell complete the quintet.

The tournament, which takes place at Sunningdale Golf Club in Berkshire, is now in its 83^rd year and attracts top professionals such as Sam Torrance, Paul Lawrie and Tommy Fleetwood. Amateurs Penge and Lamb claimed victory in 2016, with Penge overcoming a bout of food poisoning to take the trophy at his third attempt, having reached the semi-finals on the two previous occasions.

Penge and Lamb will be looking to repeat last year's success, but among those standing in their way will be Stuart Gillett and Ladies' European Tour player Holly Aitchison, who join forces for the first time. Chris McDonnell teams up with fellow PGA professional Philip Waugh (Brampton) for his title challenge, while experienced European Tour player Toby Tree will play alongside Nathan Longley (Worthing).

Gillett is hopeful that one of the Goodwood players can come out on top, but is pleased that the club has so many representatives in the competition. He said; "It's great to have so many entries in this year's Sunningdale Foursomes. We were delighted that Marco and Sophie won last year and it seems to have inspired the rest of us to challenge them. Hopefully Golf At Goodwood can have some players in the latter stages again this year as it really is a first class event.  I know a number of our members and juniors are intending to come and watch, so let's hope we can provide some good golf to inspire them as well."

McDonnell, who will be playing a number of PGA South Region competitions in 2017, added; "I'm really looking forward to playing in the Sunningdale Foursomes this year, both the Old and New courses are challenging and it's a pleasure to play in such a prestigious event. It's fantastic for the club that Golf At Goodwood will have such a presence and from my perspective it will be good preparation for my game for the 2017 PGA season."

You can follow the progress of the players at the Sunningdale Foursomes and the rest of the season on social media by searching for the hashtag #TeamGoodwood.

For more information on Golf At Goodwood, including details on the Academy, please visit www.goodwood.com or call the Golf team on 01243 755144.

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