Fresh Scunthorpe assault on flagship PGA tournament

• David McNicholas aims to make it two wins in three years for Scunthorpe pros in the PGA Professional Championship
• Normanby Hall pro set for first appearance in The PGA's flagship event
• He has spent much of his career developing his coaching and retail business but now wants to spend more time playing competitively

Scunthorpe could be toasting a second PGA Professional Championship victor in three years should David McNicholas get his way at Little Aston.

The 33 year old will travel to the Sutton Coldfield venue with his assistant Matthew Cuthbert for the regional qualifier of the Titleist & FootJoy-sponsored event on May 1.

Should either, or both, of the pair make it through the qualifier they will secure a place in the £91,500 grand final at Burnham and Berrow in Somerset on June 2-5.

There they will have an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of fellow North Lincolnshire pro Daniel Greenwood of Forest Pines, who secured success just two years ago in the championship final at Slaley Hall.

They could also qualify for the prestigious PGA Cup. Six spots will be available for the biennial matchplay event which will pit a team of Great Britain and Ireland pros against their United States counterparts at CordeValle, California in September.

McNicholas will be making his first appearance in the championship having been forced to sacrifice playing time over much of the past decade to focus on developing his own coaching and retail business out of the Normanby Hall pro shop.

But with that part of his career now thriving he is keen to press on with competitive golf having been a passionate player ever since his golf-mad father took him to Muirfield to witness Nick Faldo win the 1987 Open Championship.

“Golf is in my family’s blood,” McNicholas explained. “So it is important to me that I’m out there competing.

“My dad’s a big golfer as is my brother who is now the head pro at Saffron Walden, so I’ve pretty much been dragged up with it. It’s great that I’ve been able to turn it into a career.

“I’ve been head pro at Normanby Hall now for four years and I’m contracted until 2018 – I’m enjoying life here."

McNicholas admitted that he has been aiming to play in the championship, which is regarded as the flagship event for PGA Professionals, for a number of years.

“I’ve wanted to play in this event for a long time, but one thing or another has always got in the way,” he reflected.

“It has a great history and the fact that the qualifier is being held at an Open Championship qualifying venue tells you everything about the kind of test it is going to provide.”

“It will be a great experience and something I can build off as I want to be testing myself at the highest level I possibly can.”

Matthew Johnson, Titleist brand director, said: “We are really excited to be sponsoring a tournament that sits at the pinnacle of The PGA schedule, providing PGA Professionals with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills at the highest level.

“This year marks the first in a new four year partnership between Titleist and The PGA. It is a relationship we are proud to expand in order to help serious golfers of all abilities, from competitive club-based professionals to club golfers, shoot their best scores.

“We look forward to meeting competitors at the regional qualifiers and the final at the magnificent Burnham and Berrow in June and wish everyone taking part the very best of luck.”

Other players competing in the Little Aston qualifier include: Nevil Bland (Brocton Hall), Ben Delderfield-Brown (Izaak Walton), Richard O’Hanlon (St Kew), Ian Walley (Kedleston Park), and 2007 PGA Cup players Danny Taylor (Robert Rock Academy) and James Whatley (Morley Hayes).