Beaty rediscovers his best form

Martin Beaty (left) turned back the clock to book his place in the Golfbreaks.com PGA Fourball Championship final alongside Crompton & Royton partner Jordan Flint (right).

The duo topped the leaderboard at Woodsome Hall Golf Club in Huddersfield, carding a nine-under-par round of 61 on the way to a two-shot win.

They pipped Mark Sheppard (Darland Golf) and Jon Bevan (Rhos on Sea), David Corsby (Fleetwood) and Martin Edge (Hesketh) and Gareth Lewis (Royal St David's) and Gareth Jones (Sandiway).

They will join six other qualifiers at the £28,750 BMW-supported final which will be held at Forest Pines Hotel in Lincolnshire on October 2-4.

Beaty was delighted to rediscover his best form, and his partnership with assistant Flint was enough to shake off the competition and steer the Oldham-based club to top spot.

Beaty said: “I was playing a lot in Australia 10 years ago, that’s where I got my PGA qualification and I spent time playing on the Australasian and Asian tours.

“But I came back home to Crompton & Royton and took over here three years ago.

“I was a junior at the club and returned for family reasons to take over as the club’s professional, but I haven’t played that much since so I just wanted to get back to picking up a golf club again.

“This event was a chance to see if I could still play so I’m pleased it went well.”

Beaty admitted he and Flint were pushed by their playing partners in the qualifying event.

He added: “We had a good back nine with six birdies, but we were playing with Gareth Lewis and Gareth Jones and they were doing well too. So that made it a bit more competitive for us.

“This’ll be the first time I’ve played in the final so I’m really looking forward to getting over to Forest Pines.”