Derbyshire set sights on Belfry final

A trio of PGA pros from Derbyshire are eying a trip to the Belfry as they tee up in the SkyCaddie PGA England and Wales Inter-County Championship regional qualifier at Stapleford Park (above).

Kevin Taylor (Brailsford), Ian Walley (Kedleston Park) and James Whatley (Morley Hayes) will go toe-to-toe with eight other counties from around The PGA in England (Midland) region on September 9.

And the reward for the winners of the qualifier will be a place in the £10,000 final over The Belfry’s PGA National course on October 14-15.

The county narrowly missed out on a place in the final last year, taking third place after carding a level-par score in the highly-competitive qualifier

Only Walley returns from that side on the back of an otherwise successful 2013. He claimed a dream double last year with victories in the Lombard Trophy and Golfplan Insurance PGA Pro-Captain Challenge.

He will be joined by former PGA Cup player Whatley, who comes into the event on the back of an impressive second place finish in the Golfbreaks.com PGA Fourball Championship, and Taylor, who has been working as a teaching professional in Derbyshire for more than 15 years.

The Belfry is best known for its ties to the Ryder Cup, with the biennial matchplay event having been hosted at the West Midlands venue on four occasions, in 1985, 1989, 1993 and 2002.

Jacqui Surman, senior vice president of international sales and marketing at SkyCaddie, said: “For over a decade SkyCaddie has worked with PGA golf professionals at the heart of the game, pioneering the use of distance measuring devices.

“SkyCaddie and the PGA Professional are viewed by golfers in a similar way. We are both trusted, above all others, to give the right advice; we both go into painstaking detail to help the golfer to achieve their best-ever score; and we are both highly visible out there on the golf course.

“SkyCaddie has its industry-leading course mapping process, where every hole is surveyed on foot, and the PGA Professional has his or her welcome presence wherever golfers play the game – coaching, inspiring and encouraging.

“We are delighted to support the PGA England & Wales Inter-County Championship for another season – it is an exciting event with plenty of pride at stake, and we wish all competitors good golfing.”

Other teams competing in the Stapleford Park qualifier include Leicestershire - Matthew Cort (Rothley Park), Tom James (Cosby), Craig Shave (Whetstone); Nottinghamshire - Andrew Willey (Bulwell Forest), Lee Clarke (Beeston Fields), Phillip Edwards (Nottinghamshire Golf Lessons); Warwickshire - Christopher Evans (Wishaw), Robert Bardsley (Moor Hall), Cameron Clark (Moor Hall).