Points toward the 2007 PGA Cup team are up for grabs

There's more on the line at the 39th PGA Professional National Championship this week than the Walter Hagen Cup. The top finishers also will begin compiling points in a two-year system to determine who will compete in the 2007 PGA Cup.

By Bob Denney, PGA of America

VERONA, N.Y. -- Players in this week's 39th PGA Professional National Championship at Turning Stone Resort and Casino will have an additional incentive in their quest for the Walter Hagen Cup. The event also marks the opening of the first two-year points system to determine the U.S. Team that will compete in the 2007 PGA Cup.

The 22nd PGA Cup, the premier international competition for PGA Professionals, will be contested Sept. 21-23, 2007, at the Oconee Course at Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Ga.

The 2007 U.S. Team will be determined by points distributed to the top 10 finishers at this week's National Championship and the 2007 National Championship at Sunriver, Ore. Points will have a higher value during the year in which the PGA Cup is played.

This year, the PGA Professional National Champion will receive 225 points, and the 2007 National Champion will gain 300.

The PGA Cup, which originated in 1973, is structured after the Ryder Cup. It is a biennial competition featuring 10-member teams from the United States and Great Britain & Ireland. The Great Britain & Ireland Team currently uses a two-year point system that utilizes their national championship.

Last year, the United States suffered its first defeat since 1984, a 15-11 decision at The K Club in Straffan, Ireland.

Since the PGA Cup originated in 1973 as an outgrowth of the PGA Professional National Championship, the United States has never been defeated on home soil, and owns a 14-4-3 overall record.

The Oconee Course, named after the lake that serves as the centerpiece of the Reynolds Plantation, made its debut in 2002 and immediately displayed its versatility in being selected among the "Ten Best New Upscale Courses" by Golf Digest and garnered a No. 5 ranking in Golf For Women's "50 Best Courses for Women." The course is part of a community that features a 251-room Ritz-Carlton Lodge that also opened in 2002.

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