Rugby Icons to compete in televised team matchplay

Brian O'Driscoll

A plethora of household names from the world of rugby will compete for a prize fund and global bragging rights in their second chosen sport at the Icons of Rugby Golf Tournament being held at the Buckinghamshire Golf Club in Denham, England in July (28 & 29).

Among the 24 rugby icons taking part in the 2-day event are no fewer than thirteen World Cup winners and ten British & Irish Lions, with a combined total of 1,860 caps for their respective nations. They will all feature in a Friday Pro-am, followed by paired match play contests over 9-holes on Saturday and Sunday concluding with singles matches on Sunday afternoon to decide the winning team. An exciting ‘live streamed’ Hole-In-One $1Million prize shoot out aptly named the ‘

One Million Swing’ features all the competitors, plus selected local club rugby fans and spectators at the end of the tournament.

Grand Slam winner Johnny Sexton will play alongside other Irish legends Brian O’Driscoll, Paul O’Connell and Keith Wood in a Northern Hemisphere team also containing famous Welsh giants of rugby such as Sir Gareth Edwards, Jonathan Davies and Tom Shanklin. England’s 2003 World Cup winners Lawrence Dallaglio, Mike Tindall and coach Sir Clive Woodward are also playing with former star centre Jeremy Guscott in the Northern line up, along with Scotland’s world-class full back Stuart Hogg.

Those representing the Southern Hemisphere are All Black giants Zinzan Brooke, Grant Fox, Andrew Mehrtens and Christian Cullen; Springbok 2007 World Cup winners Bryan Habana, John Smit, Victor Matfield, Fourie Du Preez and coach Jake White; plus Wallaby 1999 World Cup winners George Gregan, Matthew Burke and Tim Horan.

“For anyone who loves rugby and enjoys golf, this is a spectacular line up of stars who will be fiercely competitive during the golfing contest because it’s in their DNA,” said Tom Brookes, founder of the Icon Series concept, which featured Pep Guardiola and Ryan Giggs in the Icons of Football version at The Belfry last year and names such as Fred Couples, Lee Westwood, Oscar Del a Hoya, Luis Figo, Shane Lara and Andriy Shevchenko in previous events.                             

Two major-winning non-playing PGA captains will be announced shortly to help the teams with the selection of pairings and match play strategy, while caddies will wear Masters-style boiler suits with a number chosen by each player.

In the build up to the event, golf clubs across the country are being asked to stage Icons’ nearest-the-pin contests in regular Medal competitions to find golfers who can take part in the ‘Sone Million Swing’ with the stars shoot-out with $1Million up for grabs.

“There are lots of other special features for spectators to enjoy at the event that’s designed to be inclusive, for both Rugby and Golf fans  with adults gaining entry for just £20 and anyone under the age of 18 for free each day,” said Brookes. “More than 70% of spectators at previous Icons Series events have been new to golf events and with the strong teams of rugby icons we anticipate another great turnout of golfing newcomers.”

The championship parkland course at the Buckinghamshire was designed by legendary Ryder Cup Captain John Jacobs and has hosted many professional events, such as the Anderson Consulting World March Play, the European Seniors Tournament of Champions hosted by Gary Player and the ISPS HANDA Ladies European Masters.

For further information about the event, visit: www.icons-series.com

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