Alisdair braced for shot at Lombard glory

Dentist Alisdair Colquhoun is looking for a polished performance as he aims to reach the final of The Lombard Trophy

Colquhoun, of Dunblane New Golf Club, will partner PGA Professional Paul Jamieson (pictured) for the regional final at Crieff Golf Club on Monday 8 July.

The Perthshire duo are attempting to qualify for the £43,600 grand final which will be held over the PGA Centenary course at Gleneagles in Scotland - the venue for next year’s Ryder Cup - on September 3-4.

And 25-year-old Colquhoun is delighted to have the opportunity to compete in Europe’s largest pro-am less than a year after returning to the sport he gave up to pursue his studies.

He explained: “I’d been playing golf since I was about 14 or 15.

“But when I went away to university in Dundee to study dentistry, I stopped for five years.

“And when I’d completed my qualifications and set up as a dentist, I got back into it again and joined the club in Dunblane.

“That was only last September, but I soon got back into it again and my handicap has come down from 13 to nine.

“It’s great to get back into the game again, when I was studying I had other commitments but now I can play in the week and at weekends.”

When he qualified from his club competition for the chance to team up with Jamieson, Colquhoun was not even thinking of heading to Gleneagles.

He added: “I just paid the extra pound to take part and ended up winning it.

“Then I got a phone call to say I’d be playing with Paul at Crieff. I had no idea what I’d be playing in at the time, but now I’m really looking forward to it.

“If we do well and get to play at Gleneagles, that’d be fantastic.

“My form’s not been too bad so it’ll be good to put it to the test in an event like this.”

Other teams taking part at Crieff include Iain Colquhoun and John Cochrane (Dundonald Links), Steven Dunsmore and James Godfrey (Falkirk Tryst), Andrew Erskine and Matthew Whiteford (Ratho Park), Alan Tait and Graeme McKenzie (Marriott Dalmahoy), Ian Taylor and Andrew Walker (Drumpellier), Stewart Russell and Andrew Dickson (East Renfrewshire) and William Yule and Gordon Richard (Ballater).