Belt a notch above rivals at Fulford

23/04/2015

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Alex Belt is making the most of his decision to switch sports after winning a fog hit Titleist & FootJoy PGA Professional Championship north east qualifier at Fulford Golf Club.

Belt started out as a footballer with Hull City before moving on to York City but when he did not make the grade, he turned to golf.

And now the 29-year-old Snainton Golf Centre professional is carrying on his form from last year and has his sights set high with a place at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth already booked for next month.

Belt won by just one shot at the York venue, shrugging off a three-and-a-half hour fog delay, to card a four under par round of 68 to finish top of the leaderboard ahead of Adam Durie (Woodsome Hall Golf Club).

They will join 10 other qualifiers at the £91,500 Grand Final which will be held at Burnham & Berrow Golf Club in Somerset on June 2-5.

And for Belt, it has been a memorable 12 months.

He won the North Order of Merit which took him to the PGA Play-Offs in Turkey where he came fifth to qualify for Wentworth.

That has also lined him up for a possible place in this year’s PGA Cup squad to face the USA in California this September.

And a high-placed finish at Burnham could see him qualify automatically with spots still up for grabs in Jon Bevan’s Great Britain & Ireland team.

And Belt is keen to make up for lost time as a professional.

“I came to golf late, I was a player with Hull City from the age of 8-17 and then I moved to York City,” he said.

“But football just fizzled out and I’d been playing at my local course.


“My handicap was low and the owner of the venue paid for my PGA training fees so I was able to start a career as a professional.

“I can only thank him for that.

“I’m starting to get a bit old now approaching 30. In football, that would be nearing the end of my career but there’s plenty of years left in golf and the fire’s still burning for me.”

Belt will be happy to keep his run going in what is another big year for the Scarborough-based player.

“I’m looking forward to ticking Wentworth off my list and then it’s the chance of getting to the PGA Cup,” he added.

“My form seems to have carried on from last year and the hard work has been paying off so far.

"Fulford is on my doorstep so it's a course I'm used to."

Also qualifying for the grand final at Burnham & Berrow alongside Belt and Durie were Alexander Wrigley (Hartlepool), Michael Nesbit (Westerhope), Stuart Runcie (Abergele), Christopher Mathews (Tynemouth), George Cowan (Jonathan Lupton (Close House), Nicholas Marchant (Easingwold), Lee Morrisroe (Oulton Hall Golf Academy), Alex Boyton (Skidby Lakes) and Andrew Rossington (Lees Hall). 

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