19th Hole

Phil Mickelson begins work on first Canadian course

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Phil Mickelson (Ross Kinnaird/ Getty Images)

Phil Mickelson Design (PMD) has been signed to create a championship golf course west of Calgary in the foothills of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

Barry Ehlert, Managing Partner of Windmill Golf Group, is developing Mickelson National Golf Club of Canada as a centerpiece of Harmony, a 1,700-acre community built by partners Qualico Communities and Bordeaux Developments.

“I could not be more excited about the partnership we’ve formed for my first signature golf course in Canada,” said Mickelson. “The Calgary area has a huge number of golf fans and players and we plan to create an outstanding golf course – one that’s both fun for amateurs and challenging enough to host the world’s best players in a PGA Tour event.”

The gently rolling foothills will be transformed, with shaping reflective of the mountains, water features and sensational landscaping to accentuate the golf course design. It also will be true to the guiding principles of the community: purposeful, caring and stable. That is, complementing the fabric of family-oriented community, ensuring sustainability and honoring the legacy of the Copithorne family, which settled the land more than a century ago.

“Harmony presents a tremendous new opportunity for us,” said Mickelson. “Our setting is magnificent and I’m really looking forward to contributing to a quality, family-oriented community.”

 

Mickelson’s first design was Whisper Rock in Scottsdale, AZ. PMD recently completed successful projects in Kunming and Shanghai, China, and has ambitious plans for the renovation of Torrey Pines North, home of the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego.

 

The design process is in progress with the groundbreaking planned for this fall and full construction taking place in 2015.

Wentworth Golf Club sold to Chinese investors

BMW PGA Championship - Day Four

Luke Donald (David Cannon/ Getty Images)

VIRGINIA WATER, England – One of Britain’s most famous courses and the headquarters of the European Tour – Wentworth Golf Club – has been sold to Chinese firm Reignwood Investments for 135 million pounds ($220 million US).

Chanchai Ruayrungruang, founder of the Reignwood Group, says “Wentworth is a key strategic acquisition for our rapidly growing luxury lifestyle division, whose unique culture we are dedicated to preserving.”

The course that hosts the European Tour’s flagship PGA Championship and is located 25 miles west of London was previously owned by restaurant entrepreneur Richard Caring.

Caring – the 112th richest person in the United Kingdom – says in a statement released by the Wentworth club that it is “in great hands for the next chapter in its amazing story.”