Russell Weir appointed as Great Britain and Ireland PGA Cup team captain
Russell Weir of Scotland has vowed to lead the team from the front after being confirmed as the Great Britain and Ireland team captain for the second consecutive time for the PGA Cup.
Weir was given the opportunity after the PGA Executive Committee gave a unanimous approval on Tuesday, July 10, 2012, a day before his 61st birthday.
He is currently the joint-record holder of the most appearances in the PGA Cup and has represented his team in each of the last four decades.
"It is fitting that in the 40th anniversary since the commencement of the PGA Cup matches that Russell will again be involved for a fourth decade, having represented GB&I in the 80s and 90s, in 2000 and as captain in 2011 which is a fantastic achievement".
In addition to that, he made eight successive appearances, starting from 1986 to 2000 and recorded a total of 15 wins for his team.
He will now be the first captain for GB&I after the 10-man team selection procedure announced early this year.
According to the new criteria, the team will consist of six players with maximum points in the last two Glenmuir PGA Professional Championships, along with top three players of the Titleist PGA Play-Offs. The remaining one player will be a captain’s pick.
While accepting the challenge of being the leader of the team once again, he said that he will definitely try to avenge the defeat that he faced last year 17.5 - 8.5 against the United States team.
"I am absolutely over the moon and it's great to have another go to make up for last time," he said.
"It's another chance to get my hands on that trophy and to win it for the PGA. I still think about what happened last time and I have learned from that and will certainly use the experience gained".
While talking about the new team selection process, he expressed his pleasure and stated that a number of new faces are expected to appear in the next edition of the event because of the revised criteria.
Moreover, the selection of top rated players will also strengthen the team, which, in turn, can give a tough competition to the United States PGA Cup team in 2013.
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