Rockliffe Hall to welcome Ryder Cup stars as they confirm participation in the English Senior Open

Former Ryder Cup captain, Sam Torrance OBE and Costantino Rocca have confirmed their intention to play in the European Senior Tour English Senior Open being held at Rockliffe Hall on August Bank Holiday Weekend, Friday August 22nd until Sunday August 24th, with a pro-am tournament being held on the Thursday.

Scotland’s Torrance is famed for captaining the Ryder Cup team in 2002 and also winning the European Tour 21 times. The 60 year-old, who is also a well-known commentator, was awarded the MBE in 1996 and the OBE in 2003 for his outstanding contributions to golf.

Costantino Rocca is Italy’s most successful golfer to date, having won five European Tours and two European Senior Tours. Fifty seven year-old Rocca also finished second in the 1995 Open.

In addition to Rocca and Torrance, former Ryder Cup captain, Mark James, will be playing in the English Senior Open at Rockliffe Hall and other major names are expected to confirm their part in the coming weeks. Steen Tinning will return to defend his title as the winner of last year’s tournament at Rockliffe Hall and Paul Wesselingh, who won last year’s Order of Merit, has also confirmed as playing.

This year’s English Senior Open follows the success of the 2013 tour, which attracted over 5000 spectators to Rockliffe Hall, and will be the biggest single sporting event in the North East in 2014. Tickets can now be bought for just £10 (under 16s free) by visiting www.englishsenioropen.com or calling 01325 729999.

Chairman of Rockliffe Hall, Warwick Brindle, said: “Torrance and Rocca are two of the world’s most admired sportsmen and it is a massive coup for the North East that they have confirmed as playing at Rockliffe Hall, alongside Mark James, also a former Ryder Cup captain. We’re really looking forward to hosting the event in the region and welcoming such a fantastic field of players to the North East.”