PGA Cup countdown: Benn Barham revisits the famous halved match at Slaley Hall in 2013

In the history of the PGA Cup there have only been four ties, the most recent of which took place in 2013 at Slaley Hall. Former DP World Tour player Benn Barham was a key figure that week 

GB&I trailed by four points after day one, and by five points after the second day, but then produced an incredible comeback to share the spoils and come agonisingly close to recapturing the Llandudno Trophy at the 2013 PGA Cup at Slaley Hall. 

On the final day, Russell Weir's Great Britain & Ireland side won seven-and-a-half of the available 10 points with Benn Barham leading the way in the singles. The Englishman, who played nearly 200 times on the DP World Tour and won twice on the HotelPlanner Tour, was first off as GB&I looked to overturn a huge deficit and here he recalls an historic week in the history of the biennial competition.  

“I turned pro when I was 19 and I did my training at Chart Hills. Some of the members backed me on Tour and I got a ranking on the Challenge Tour while I was still doing my training. I played on the European and Challenge Tours for a number of years, then I got kidney cancer in 2010 which kind of scuttled me a little bit and, when I missed my card at Q School in 2012, I was done with it. I worked so hard to go through the mental and physical demands of the cancer – I was lucky that they just took my kidney out and it was a straightforward op – and, by this time, I had more commitments at home. So I played some PGA events and went down the coaching route. 

“I qualified for the PGA Cup team by finishing third in the PGA Professional Championship which was also held at Slaley Hall that year. Dan Greenwood won it and David Callaway was second and we all made the team on the back of that week. We had a great team – Graham Fox, Nicholas Brennan and Jon Barnes also qualified that week, Greig Hutcheon was a captain's pick and Richard Wallis, Scott Henderson and Gareth Wright made it via the PGA Play-Offs. It was brilliant, Russell Weir was the captain and Jon Bevan was his assistant. 

Pictured: Benn Barham and Dan Greenwood at the PGA Cup

“Obviously we were up against it, between us we had probably played around 10 Majors while the Americans had played something like 45 as they had qualified for plenty of PGA Championships. They had some really, really good players. At first I'd never really heard too much but, by the end of the week, you knew all about them. 

“On the first day I was partnered with David Callaway, I think we played together as we were from the south and he was a long hitter and I was pretty steady. We lost both matches and then I paired up with Dan Greenwood. The 18th at Slaley is a brutally tough hole and I remember us parring it for a half in the fourballs which felt like a win and we ended the day unbeaten. 

“Russell (Weir) was taken ill on the Saturday so had to spend the night in hospital and Jon Bevan took over the captaincy so the next time we saw Russell was on the course on the Sunday afternoon. 

“We went into the final day 10.5-5.5 behind but we did think that we could still pull it off. Our thinking was that there was no reason why, in a head-to-head singles, we couldn't win all the points. I coach the Kent first team and my message to them is always that they're good enough to be in the team so there's no reason why they can't take care of their own point. So there was definitely a belief that we could do it. 

“But it had to come early. I was sent off first and I did feel a responsibility to get us off to a winning start against Mike Small. It's amazing in team singles how the momentum can shift – we've just seen it at Bethpage and this was the year after Medinah when Europe had turned around a 10-6 deficit. 

“The overriding feeling of playing in the PGA Cup was that it was as close as you'll get to a Ryder Cup, which has to be every golfer's dream to play in” - Benn Barham

“On the Sunday I just played so well. In truth a driving factor was to win early as I didn't like the last three holes. You could potentially be two up with three to play and not win as they were that tricky. I managed to win 4&3 so, thankfully, I didn't have to play them.  

“In the end we tied the match and they got to keep the trophy but it was a fantastic final day and week overall. The overriding feeling was that it was as close as you'll get to a Ryder Cup, which has to be every golfer's dream to play in. We had the opening ceremony, matching uniforms and the camaraderie and Russell was a really top bloke. He had grit and determination and that's the kind of player I am so I was always going to go out and play hard for him and the team. 

“Team golf is so special as you've all got the same goal and you've all got each other's backs. And in golf it's especially great because you don't really do it. You hardly ever get to represent a team and this was us taking on the United States.  

“Looking back on 2013 the week at Slaley Hall was one of the highlights of my career and like nothing else and I'd love to be involved in the matches in the future.  

“In 2015 I doubled the last at Burnham & Berrow to miss the team for California by one and it was a toss up between Graham Fox and I and they went with Graham. 

“I'm good friends and have worked alongside Robert Rock for a number of years and it would be very cool to add something together to the GB&I effort in the years to come. I'm not sure if my stature, having only played in one match, would be big enough but, between us, we'd be able to maybe offer something a bit different and I'm sure the players would enjoy having Robert involved.” 

About The PGA Cup  

The PGA Cup is regarded as the pinnacle for any PGA Professional, with GB&I and the USA competing in a Ryder Cup format. This will mark the 32nd edition of the biennial match, which first took place in 1973. 

Each team consists of 19 players, and the event unfolds over three days of competition, featuring four foursomes and four fourballs on each of the first two days, followed by ten singles matches on the final day. 

The 2026 PGA Cup week will begin on Tuesday, September 29. The competition proper begins on Friday, October 2. 

To find out more about the PGA Cup, click here.