Bright assistant set to dazzle at Haverhill

• Mike Shrieve set for first appearance on PGA national tournament schedule
• The Grove assistant only took up golf at 16 having been taken to a driving range by some friends
• He aims to become a director of golf before he is 30 and sees the PGA foundation degree as the perfect route into golf club management

An ambitious assistant PGA Professional from Buckinghamshire is set to play in his first national PGA event despite only taking up golf at the age of 16.

Mike Shrieve, from Chartridge, will play in the Galvin Green PGA Assistants’ Championship regional qualifier at Haverhill (above) on April 29.

It is just nine years since the Grove assistant, now 25, took his first swing yet he has managed to reduce his handicap to below four, the level required to join The PGA’s foundation degree programme and train to become a PGA Professional.

Shrieve, a former gymnast, has done so all while completing a degree in Sports Management Golf at Bournemouth University, where he graduated as the top performing student, even securing a work placement at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida in the process.

He will now aim to continue his rise through the golfing ranks by finishing among the leading players in the qualifier and taking a place in the £32,500 championship final at Coventry Golf Club on August 5-7.

The championship pre-dates the US Masters and is the oldest event on The PGA’s national tournament schedule. Previous winners include Dai Rees, Peter Alliss and Tony Jacklin.

“I’m really looking forward to it, it’s a great event and my game is feeling really good, so I’m hopeful I can do well,” he explained.

“I’ve been playing well for a while but my putting has been letting me down if I’m honest. I had some coaching and did an Aimpoint course, and that helped me to finish third in my last event.

“Now I want to carry that performance across to Haverhill and hopefully make it through to the final!”

Not that Shrieve, who became hooked on the sport when friends armed him with a driver and took him to the local range, is set on solely pursuing a career in the playing side of the game.

“I think coming in late has helped me to do so with really broad horizons,” he said. “I just want to have an open mind to all of the different careers in the sport.

“Playing is obviously an important skill to have as a PGA Professional, but it is not everything.

“To be honest the route that has caught my eye the most is becoming a golf club manager, I’d say my goal right now is to try to become a director of golf before I am 30.

“I’m in a great place here at the Grove where I can just work really hard and see how far I can go – I’ve set my goals, now I just need to work as hard as I can to achieve them.”

Mike Johnson-Hill, managing director of Galvin Green UK, said: “Galvin Green is proud to be associated with such a long-standing and valued event and keen to support the younger generation of PGA Professionals who are so important to the future of the game.”

"The popularity of this event among aspiring PGA Professionals is great to see and we are delighted to be playing a small part in their progression in the game."

Other players competing in the regional qualifier at Haverhill include: Thomas Bushell (John O’Gaunt), Declan Brady (Stevenage), Zara Houchin (Berkhamsted), Nicholas Pateman (Pinner Hill), Harriet Key (Moor Park) and Scott Young (TopGolf).