The Coca Cola PGA Assistants’ Championship takes place from 23-25 July at Farleigh Golf Club, where 144 players, who all qualified through their regional qualifiers, will battle it out for a first prize of £5,000 and a spot in the 2025 PGA Play-Offs at PGA National Cyprus, Aphrodite Hills Resort.
Conor Coles (The Wisley) has had his eye on the Championship title since he started his golf career, as his father, Gary Coles and grandfather, Neil Coles, won the Championship in 1985 and 1956 respectively.
Particularly, Conor's grandfather Neil enjoyed an illustrious playing career, securing victories in seven European Tour Events between 1972 and 1982 as well as eight Ryder Cup appearances for Europe. With the talent clearly a staple of the Coles bloodline, Conor is eager to carry the name into the next generation.
“There's only one winner, so it's tough to win, but I just want to give myself a chance going into the final round. At the start of the season, I was struggling a little bit, but the last few weeks I've been playing a lot better. So my game's feeling like it's in a good spot going into the tournament, and I like that it's at Farleigh - I like the course, it suits me. The rough’s quite long, so you've got to be quite straight and there's a lot of chances if you're good with a wedge - it’s nice, well presented and good fun.”
Coles isn’t the only PGA Trainee on the hunt for the title at this 75th edition of the tournament. Lauren Horsford (Horton Park Golf Club), the 2023 Women’s PGA Assistants’ Champion also has her sights set on the trophy.
She said: “I'm feeling pretty confident. I need to do a practice round at Farleigh as I haven't played there yet, so I need to see what the course is like. I actually messaged my sister because she played in it last year and she said to definitely go for a practice round!
“I'm looking forward to playing, because this is the last year I'll be able to do it, if I get my full qualification, obviously. It's the first year I've done it, but I'm looking to do well. I work a lot in the winter and don't play so much, but this summer I've planned it so that I've got quite a lot of tournaments - I want to play as much as I can. If it means taking a cut with a bit of work, I don't mind, because obviously if you do well in the tournaments, it can be better than a day or two's work.”
Find out more about the 2024 Coca Cola Assistants’ Championship by clicking here.
