Andrews looks to make experience count

A civil engineer from Ashford is set to make his second appearance in the Lombard Trophy regional finals.

John Andrews, 55, will play in Europe’s largest pro-am alongside his Donnington Valley PGA Professional Martin Balfour at Royal Ashdown on July 20.

It comes ten years after he first qualified for this stage of the tournament, not long after signing up to become a member of the West Berkshire golf club.

On that occasion he was unable to reach the final, but the reward for doing so this year would be a trip to Gleneagles’ PGA Centenary Course for the £80,000 showpiece on September 1-2.

And golfer of 20 years Andrews, who also enjoys DIY, is hoping the duo can win their place at last year’s Ryder Cup venue.

“Of course it would be amazing to make it through to Gleneagles,” he enthused. “I’ve never played golf in Scotland before!

“I remember the last time I played in this I was a nervous wreck! It was a brilliant experience though, a great day. Unfortunately we didn’t make it through to the final, though.

“I played in the club championship last week and I felt that my game was pretty good. I’ll definitely be out practicing more in the run-up to the event."

Andrews first got into golf 20 years ago when he was introduced to the game by his brother in law.

“It all came down to family to start with, they were really keen to start golf and I was more than happy to join in," he explained.

“We went to play at Drayton Park and I just remember instantly being hooked."

Since then he has been improving his game with the help of the PGA Professionals at Donnington Valley.

“I have had lessons with Martin in the past, he’s a very good golf coach, very technical,” he said.

“He’s often busy though so more recently I’ve been working on my game with the assistants at the club.

“Everyone’s really helpful and hopefully that will give me a good chance of doing well at Royal Ashdown.”