With its great location, tour calibre course, and previous championship history, St. Margaret's was an obvious
choice to host the 2004 Irish PGA championship. The tournament featured both former and present Ryder Cup
stars, as well as many upcoming young Irish standouts.
Padraig Harrington followed up a 4th place finish at the Masters in Augusta the week before with a dramatic win at St. Margaret's. Not decided until the 72nd hole, St. Margaret's magnificent 18th, Harrington edged former Ryder Cup standout Philip Walton in tough conditions during a blustery week.
The Irish Seniors Championship is perennially one of the European Tour's most
prestigious and hotly contested events. St. Margaret's was proud to have
been chosen to host the inaugural edition of the tournament in 1997.
The champion in 1997 was England's Tommy Horton, the chairman of the Seniors Tour Committee, who won by two shots from Noel Ratcliffe at St. Margaret's, on his way to one of his five victories on the Seniors Tour Order of Merit that season.
St. Margaret's hosted its first major tour championship just two years after opening
its doors, and could not have asked for a better champion.
World number one Luara Davies dominated the tournament, hitting shots the members still talk about. Laura said "St. Margaret's is a cracking course! A great course... I wouldn't change anything about it." Great praise from a great champion- our first of many.
