PGA Tour Hall of Famer Tony Jacklin has been named the honorary chairman of the Jacksonville Championship, a LocaliQ Series event to be contested Sept. 23-25 at Hidden Hills Golf Club in Jacksonville.
Jacklin, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, has 29 professional wins around the globe including two majors, the 1969 Open Championship and 1970 U.S. Open. He also took top honors in the 1972 Greater Jacksonville Open held at Hidden Hills, four years after winning the same event at The Deerwood Club. The Greater Jacksonville Open was the precursor to today’s PLAYERS Championship, which is often touted as the “fifth major” on the PGA Tour.
Jacklin is also well known for competing in the Ryder Cup where he was a playing member of the Great Britain and Ireland team in 1967, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1975 and 1977, and of the first European team in 1979. He captained the European team in 1983, 1985, 1987 and 1989, winning the last three and helping to put the Ryder Cup on the map as the premier golf competition in the world.
Jacklin’s son, Sean Jacklin, a talented professional golfer in his own right, will compete in the Jacksonville Championship 50 years after his father’s first visit to Hidden Hills in 1970, where he finished third behind champion Don January. Both father and son will compete in the Jacksonville Championship Pro-Am on Monday, Sept. 21 at Hidden Hills. Tony will be the featured speaker at the awards cookout and cocktail party following play.
For more information on the LocaliQ Series and the 2020 Jacksonville Championship, go to www.hiddenhillsgc.com or call the PGA Golf Shop at Hidden Hills Golf Club at (904) 620-0910.
