Evesham pair prepare for Little Aston test

Lorry driver Nick Webb is hoping to steer Evesham Golf Club to a second final in three years when he plays in The Lombard Trophy.

Webb will partner PGA Professional Dan Clee (pictured) in the regional final of Europe’s largest pro-am, which will be held on Wednesday 24 July at Little Aston Golf Club in Sutton Coldfield.

The duo are aiming to qualify for the £43,600 grand final which will be held over the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles in Scotland - the venue for next year’s Ryder Cup - on September 3-4.

Clee made it to the final in 2011 and will be looking to repeat the feat with 58-year-old Webb, who has noticed a marked improvement in his own game since he returned to the sport after a long lay-off.

“I gave up for about five or six years to be honest,” he explained, “I wasn’t playing well, I was getting frustrated and not really enjoying it, so I stopped.

“But I was playing for another club at the time and then I found out some friends of mine were playing at Evesham, so I joined them and found I was getting into golf again.

“The break has done me good really and this year I’ve been playing quite well.’

Webb, who plays off a handicap of 11, won the club qualifying event to earn the right to team up with Clee at Little Aston.

The pair will have to beat a competitive field that will include Glenmuir PGA Professional Championship winner, and former Lombard Trophy champion, Daniel Greenwood if they are to reach the Gleneagles showpiece.

But Webb’s hopes were recently boosted when he was informed of Clee’s recent success in the competition.

He said: “I wasn’t playing at Evesham at the time, so it was only when I qualified for Little Aston that I found out Dan had made it to the final before.

“So that’s good to know and it would be great if we could do it again and get to Gleneagles."

The rest of the field competing at Little Aston includes; Martin Sutliff and Val Kalas (Coventry);  Mark Sparrow and Gary Morris (Himley Hall); Robert Smith and Alan Symms (Nottinghamshire); Thomas Gibbs and Stuart Kitching (The Shropshire); Steve Carter and Mike Whitmore (Walmley); and Ian Proverbs and Sonny Chhohan (Walsall).