Cannon heading for prestigious Concession Cup
Robbie Cannon chats with Garth McGimpsey, who was back at Co Sligo on Sunday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first of his four West of Ireland titles.
Robbie Cannon will shake off his West of Ireland Championship disappointment when he joins Garth McGimpey, Adrian Morrow, Arthur Pierse, Maurice Kelly, Eoghan O'Connell and Harry Diamond in the Great Britain and Ireland side for the biennial Concession Cup in Florida from May 1-3.
Designed to celebrate the game through international competition while giving back to worthy causes, the event is played between teams comprised of leading male Mid-Amateurs, Senior-Amateurs and Super Senior-Amateurs from the United States and Great Britain and Ireland at The Concession Golf Club.
The Concession Golf Club, Florida
Players will compete over three days through the traditional team match-play formats of foursomes, fourball and singles.
Each team comprises 18 players separated into three categories: eight (8) Mid-Am members (age 25 to 54), eight (8) Senior members (age 55 and older) and two (2) Super Senior members (age 65 and older).
McGimpsey and Vinny Giles awill serve as team captains for Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) and the US respectively
GB&I TEAM
- MID-AM: James Bunch, Matthew Clark, Robbie Cannon, Harry Diamond, Eoghan O'Connell, Edward Richardson, Ben Westgate, Martin Young.
- SENIOR: Richard Latham, Richard Partridge, Garth McGimpsey, Ian Brotherston, Maurice Kelly, Adrian Morrow, Arthur Pierse, Andrew Stracey.
- SUPER SENIOR: Peter Hedges, Ian Hutcheon.
US TEAM
- MID-AM:Gene Elliott, Scott Harvey, Tim Jackson, Trip Kuehne, Mike McCoy, Gary Nicklaus, Nathan Smith, Todd White
- SENIOR:Vinny Giles (Playing Captain), Dr. Doug Hanzel, Chip Lutz, John "Spider" Miller, Pat Tallent, Paul Simson, Martin West, George Zahringer
- SUPER SENIOR: Jim Holtgrieve, Robert Lewis
Lending their names to the event and committed to attend the opening celebration are Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin (Honorary Captains), Paul Azinger (Honorary Chairman) and Gary Koch (Opening Celebration MC & Host).
Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin at the 1969 Ryder Cup at Royal Birkdale.
The schedule of events includes Tuesday's Opening Celebration will be highlighted by NBC Sports' Koch acting as Emcee and Host, Azinger participating as Honorary Chairman and a special conversation with Nicklaus and Jacklin, 2013 Concession Cup Honorary Captains.
There is an Am/Am on Wednesday before the action begins with the foursoms of Thursday, the Fourballs on Friday and the singles on Saturday.
The Concession Golf Club was inspired by one of sports' most-heralded acts of sportsmanship. At the 1969 Ryder Cup ,Nicklaus conceded a two-foot putt to Jacklin in the final singles match that led to the first tie in the history of the matches. The Concession Cup was created to celebrate the 45th anniversary of this iconic moment.
The event will also raise money for The First Tee of Tampa Bay, Orphan's Heart and the Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation.
"I am delighted to be a part of The Concession Cup and to join my friend Tony Jacklin as an Honorary Captain," Nicklaus said. "I have always held a deep appreciation and respect for amateur golf, and the Cassidy Family shares that admiration for the amateur game."
