A TILT at golfing glory awaits amateur Dereck Newcombe and his Cotswold Edge PGA professional Rod Hibbitt as they bid to reach the Lombard Trophy grand final being staged at Gleneagles – just three weeks before Europe and America meet in the Ryder Cup.
Newcombe, a 43-year-old engineer who plays off a handicap of 12, teed up a chance to tread the fairways at Gleneagles between September 3-4 when he won his club qualifying competition with a net score of 65.
He and Rod Hibbitt, 37, a professional at Cotswold Edge for 15 years, now advance to the regional final at Burnham & Berrow Golf Club on Wednesday, July 23, where they will compete against up to 70 other clubs for the chance to secure one of 16 prized spots available for the 36-hole grand final.
The tournament, now in its 30th year, attracts entries from upwards of 700 clubs across Great Britain and Ireland. Lombard originally sponsored the tournament from 1995 to 2006 before returning as headline sponsor in 2013.
The PGA National Pro-Am Championship has a total prize fund of £80,000, with the winning professional at the grand final taking home a cheque for £12,000.
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