MOORTOWN CHALLENGE FOR NORTH-EAST PRO'S

Nearly 100 of the north-east’s PGA club professionals will be heading for historic Moortown, Leeds on Wednesday (May 4) seeking qualifying places for their national flagship event.

The Glenmuir Club Professional Championship, sponsored for the 13th year by the Scottish golfwear manufacturers, has attracted just under 600 entrants from all over Britain and Ireland, and for the Moortown players their aim is to be among the leading 19 finishers over 18 holes.

Like a number of pro’s throughout the country, Freddy Valenti from Pryors Hayes in Chester enjoyed a week’s golf in Spain last month with a group of club members. His globe-trotting extended ever farther just before the year’s end when he and club captain, Gary Randles, took fifth place in the inaugural GulfAir Pro Captain Challenge in Bahrain. He will surely expect to reach the Glenmuir final.

The Beverley & East Riding prospect, John Wells, who keeps threatening to break through to a new level, should be good enough to take one of the places that will take the qualifiers to the 72-hole final at Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire, home of the English Golf Union from June 14-17.

Others who should expect to be well up the leader board include Paul Carman (Huddersfield), John Oates (Renishaw Park, Sheffield), John Harrison (Matfen Hall), Mike Ure (Billingham) and John King (Lindrick).

The winner at Woodhall Spa picks up not only £10,000 from a prize fund of £78,000 but, like the three or four finishing behind him, will be guaranteed a place in the 10-man Britain and Ireland team to play the United States in the biennial PGA Cup match (the club pros’ version of the Ryder Cup). That takes place in September at the K Club, Dublin.