Ellis recharges batteries for Oxfordshire test

Ian Ellis aims to use a rare break from golf to his advantage when he tees off at the Titleist & FootJoy PGA Professional Championship.

Ellis heads for the £78,000 showpiece final at The Oxfordshire between July 26-29 looking to better the eighth place he achieved in the event two years ago at Blairgowrie.

The Great Yarmouth & Caister Golf Club professional has taken some time off from playing to recharge his batteries and hopes it pays dividends when he competes against the best PGA pros from across the UK.

“I had a good final in 2014 but then went to the PGA Play-Offs in Turkey and I played Wentworth the year after and never really recaptured that form when it came to last year’s final,” he said.

“There was a bit of a comedown for me. It was a year that beat me up really.

“This year I decided I just needed to take a holiday without the golf clubs. It was probably my first one in about 20 years.

“I didn’t play although I did watch The Open on TV. But I hope I’ll come back fresher and I want to do well at The Oxfordshire. I have to be aiming for a top two place I think if I want to make the play-offs again as I’m not challenging in this year’s East Order of Merit.”

Ellis will not be short of encouragement or competition from players from the East Region who will also be teeing up in the event including PGA Cup hero Jason Levermore from Channels Golf Club.

“We’re renting a house for the time we’re there and I’ll have the likes of Jason Levermore and Andrew Pestell in the same place along with a few others,” added Ellis.

“So we’ll be encouraging each other, maybe offering up a few tips and support.”

But Ellis will be going into the event with little pre-tournament knowledge of the Rees Jones designed course which has an illustrious list of past winners there including Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer and Darren Clarke.

“The Oxfordshire is not a course I’ve played before and I don’t know a lot about it,” he said.

“But last year’s event was at a links course at Burnham so this is clearly going to be a lot different to that. I hope it suits my game.”

The winner will take home a £10,000 first prize and the keys to a Peugeot 308 GT Line BlueHDi 120 for a year while there are also qualification points towards the 2017 Great Britain & Ireland PGA Cup team.

Also heading for The Oxfordshire from the East Region will be: Aaron Howard (Saffron Walden Golf Club);  Crue Elliott  (Sandy Lodge Golf Club); Darren Charlton (Dunstable Downs Golf Club); James Taverner  (Hendon Golf Club) and Andrew Pestell  (Chelmsford Golf Club).