Noted British Player And Instructor Struggling With Course Closure

Vivien Saunders, who contributed to the prize money for the first playing in 1976 of what is now the AIG Women’s British Open, and won the event herself in 1977, remains positive.

Here is an example of the aftermath left from a vandal that hit Abbotsley Golf and Squash Club. Photo: Courtesy of Vivien Saunders

A tough call when the Eynesbury Hardwicke Golf Course, which she purchased in 1986 and renamed the Abbotsley Golf and Squash Club, was destroyed by a vandal and his weed killer in 2017, only to be wrecked still more comprehensively by the company called in to effect repairs. Now, the likelihood is that this popular venue, along with its 43-bedroom hotel, will not open again until 2022.

It is typical of Saunders that she refuses to admit defeat. “Things could be worse,” she says. “I could have gotten caught up in the floods in Jakarta or the bushfires in Australia. …”

GGP+ were given an update on Saunders' unlucky lot in her Christmas newsletter, the second paragraph of which read as follows:

“With the golf course i...