JCB has announced that a tour event is set to return to the firm’s golf club following the success of the inaugural competition last year.
The first JCB Championship was staged at the JCB Golf & Country Club as part of the Legends Tour’s international schedule, featuring some of the most famous names in the sport.
The event is returning to the Rocester course in August 2023 with a prize fund of £750,000 – the largest on the Legends Tour schedule outside of the Senior Open Championship.
2022 Senior Open champion Darren Clarke will once again host the event. Star names already signed up to play include 2022 winner Alex Cejka, Retief Goosen, Thongchai Jaidee, John Daly, and Scotland’s own Colin Montgomerie.
JCB CEO Graeme Macdonald said, “We are thrilled to be hosting the JCB Championship for the second consecutive year. Last year’s event was a resounding success and with Darren Clarke hosting the occasion again, we aim to make the 2023 JCB Championship even bigger and better.”
Legends Tour CEO Phil Harrison added, “We are delighted to be returning to the JCB Golf & Country Club in 2023. The JCB Championship will undoubtedly attract some of the game’s biggest stars including Tour winners, Major winners, Ryder Cup stars and Hall of Famers.”
Darren Clarke commented, “I was extremely proud to host The JCB Championship last year for what was a truly fantastic event. The JCB Golf & Country Club is a great venue, and we had such a great field in 2022 with so many former Major champions and legends of the game taking part. I am really looking forward to returning in 2023 as host.”
More than 8,000 spectators attended the JCB Championship over three days last time out, enjoying the action on a course set in the Staffordshire countryside. The club – the brainchild of JCB chairman Anthony Bamford – was also the host venue for the Rose Ladies Series in both 2020 and 2021.
