Career men aim for golfing Odyssey

Posted on 13/05/09. By Kelly Lewis

A train driver, car mechanic, consultant surgeon, sales rep, retired police officer, hairdresser, joiner and greenkeeper will be among the massed ranks of amateur golfers chasing the prize of lifetime at Dunham Forest.

They will join forces with their club's PGA professional to battle it out on Friday May 22 for a place in the grand final of the Virgin Atlantic PGA National Pro-Am Championship being staged in Turkey at the end of the year.

And the Dunham Forest regional final, one of 16 across Great Britain and Ireland, is expected to be a hotly-contested affair with two of last year's grand finalists in the field plus two past champions all chasing an all-expenses trip to the Sirene Beach & Hotel Resort and Antalya Golf Club, which will host the 36-hole tournament over the PGA Sultan Course.

The tournament, Europe's largest pro-am with more than 100,000 competitors annually, also carries a professional prize fund of £30,000, with £5,000 going to the winning professional.

Last year's grand finalists are Bromborough pro Geoff Berry (pictured), who will play with 22-handicapper Ged Lynch-Smith, and Keswick's Gary Watson who is partnered by joiner Matthew Airey, who plays off nine.

Wirral-based Berry, who is going for a hat-trick of grand final appearances having also played in the 1999 event, secured his place in last year's final at Dunham Forest with a nine-under-par 63 aided then by amateur Ian Fitzpatrick.

Berry goes into the event having ‘warmed-up' in some of the world's most glamorous golfing occasions but admits the form, or the lack of it, is irrelevant.

"I've not played much at all apart from a couple of overseas trips to Florida, where I played Sawgrass, and Portugal. It seems I play more golf out of the country that in it." said the 47-year-old, who has been head professional at Bromborough for 18 years.

"But I don't think it makes that much difference on the day, which is the beauty of this format.

"It's about a partnership and the pros will be looking for their amateur to come in on a couple of holes and the pro to play steady. If that doesn't happen then you'll be among the also-rans.

"I can predict how we'll do but I was made up reaching last year's grand final, which was a great experience."

Past champions hoping to avoid the ‘also-rans' fate are Pleasington's Ged Furey, who won in 1996, and Kedleston Park's Paul Wesselingh, who was victorious in 2005. Furey will team up with Blackburn-based eight handicapper Paul Kilshaw, while Wesselingh, will play with 16-handicapper Stephen Walker, who is retired.

More than 40 teams from across the north west and north Wales including those from Carden Park, Hoylake (Royal Liverpool), Macclesfield, Formby, Royal St David's, Rhos-on-Sea, Ashton on Mersey, Lancaster and Douglas (Isle of Man) are descending on the Cheshire course for the 18-hole shootout.

The Virgin Atlantic PGA National Pro-Am Championship is being staged for the 25th time and for the first time it is being sponsored by the UK's long haul specialists, which is also celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Photo; Geoff Berry attached for use courtesy of Getty Images.