Thornton Hall selected as host hotel for women’s open golf championship

Thornton Hall Hotel & Spa has been named as the host hotel for the Ricoh British Women’s Open golf tournament in 2012.

The four star Wirral venue will be used by event organisers IMG for the duration of the prestigious tournament, which takes place at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake next September.

The Ricoh Women’s British Open was founded and is owned by the Ladies’ Golf Union (LGU) in 1976, and is staged in conjunction with IMG, the world’s largest sports marketing company. The event has been co-sanctioned by the LPGA and LET since 1994 and gained Major status in 2001.

Thornton Hall Hotel has already been selected as the headquarters for The R&A – golf’s governing body – when The Open Championship returns to the Wirral in 2014.

Geoff Dale, general manager at Thornton Hall Hotel, said: “This is another great honour for us to have been chosen as the host hotel for the Ricoh British Women’s Open. The Wirral really is a golfing haven and we are fortunate to have so many first class golf courses in the region.

“This is a prestigious tournament in its own right and we are delighted to be welcoming one of the world’s top women golfing events to our hotel. No doubt this event will provide a real boost for the local economy – particularly the leisure and hospitality sector – with thousands of golf and general sports fans following the tournament.

“With The Open Championship also taking place at Hoylake in 2014, the visitor economy on the Wirral has a great opportunity to show off to visitors from all over the world. The next few years could be very exciting and we are determined to capitalise and play a major part in promoting the Wirral as a whole. We look forward to working with the LGU and IMG, as well as the Royal Liverpool Golf Club and Wirral Council, to ensure that the 2012 Championship is as successful as The Open was at Hoylake in 2006.”

To avoid a clash with the London Olympics, the championship has moved from its traditional late-July date to September 13-16.

Mr Dale added: “This announcement rounds off a fantastic year for the hotel, in which we have been awarded three AA rosettes for our restaurant The Lawns and been nominated for a raft of regional and national excellence awards.”