Dinsdale eyes Lombard reunion

Former champion Richard Dinsdale will be among the hundreds of PGA professionals bidding to win a place in the grand final of The Lombard Trophy at Gleneagles which has been confirmed for September 3-4.

The Parc Golf Academy PGA professional has a special affinity with the event having won the PGA National Pro-Am Championship when it was last sponsored by Lombard back in 2006.

He came close to winning it for a second time recently in Mexico, and with dates for the grand final and 16 regional finals unveiled, the Newport pro revealed his club members are already honing their games in a bid to team up with him in the regional final at Machynys Peninsula in July.

"I have been lucky to reach a few PGA finals in my career so far and I love this sort of tournament, as do my members," said Dinsdale.

"They are quite competitive down here and will all be practicing for the monthly medal in a bid to win a place alongside me. Reaching the final creates a really good buzz at the club and raises our profile."

Dinsdale and his soon-to-be-decided amateur partner will tee up at Machynys Peninsula which the former PGA Cup player revealed was the venue for the qualifier in 2006. He topped the leader board there that year before going on to win the grand final in Portugal.

"Machynys has been a lucky course for me and hopefully it will be again this time round," he added.

"And the prospect of reaching the final at Gleneagles is an exciting one. There has been a big increase in the prize fund which is fantastic and Lombard are a great sponsor," added Dinsdale.

Lombard's return as headline sponsor with a three-year agreement has also seen the prize fund increased by £30,000 to £80,000 with the winning pro earning £12,000.

"I met a few familiar faces recently when they sponsored the PGA Pro-Captain Challenge and it is great to have them back on board with the PGA National Pro-Am."

Clubs should look out for entry packs which are set to be distributed in the next fortnight while PGA members can also enter via BlueGolf.

2013 Lombard Trophy

Regional Finals
Kedleston Park, Monday 3 June
Saunton, Friday 7 June
West Lancashire, Monday 17 June
Kingswood, Wednesday 19 June
Orsett, Tuesday 25 June
Bovey Castle, Friday 28 June
The Island, Tuesday 2 July
Dunham Forest, Friday 5 July
Crieff, Monday 8 July
Ladybank, Wednesday 10 July
King's Lynn, Monday 15 July
Fulford, Wednesday 17 July
Studley Wood, Friday 19 July
Machynys Peninsula, Monday 22 July
Little Aston, Wednesday 24 July
Golf at Goodwood, Monday 29 July

Grand Final
Gleneagles Hotel (PGA Centenary), Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 September