Historic Newcastle club set for debut final

Two Newcastle golfers are set to tee up in a national championship final on behalf of the oldest inland golf club in the north east of England.

Tyneside PGA Professional Gary Vickers and club captain David Cockland will compete in the grand final of the Golfplan Insurance PGA Pro-Captain Challenge at Antalya Golf Club in Turkey.

The duo qualified for the £25,000 Canopius-supported event, which will be played over the PGA Sultan Course on November 26-27, after coming through the regional qualifier at Huddersfield Golf Club.

Tyneside, first opened in 1879, had never entered the Pro-Captain Challenge before this year. The Turkey showpiece will mark the first time they have reached the final of a national PGA event.

Vickers, PGA pro at the historic venue since 2008, and Cockland, a club member for 14 years, had to battle north-east neighbours Westerhope to claim a place on the plane. They posted a two-shot victory in Yorkshire to secure a final spot.

They will now face a competitive field in the final including two-time past champion Brian Rimmer (Little Aston) and Channels head professional Jason Levermore, who has appeared in three of the last four BMW PGA Championships.

After the regional qualifier sales manager Cockland, who plays off a handicap of nine, said he felt it was a good decision to get involved in the competition.

“I can’t remember anyone from Tyneside getting to one of the PGA finals before,” he explained.

“I hadn’t had the pleasure of playing with our professional, so I suggested we took part.

“We only had one fright, at the 18^th. Gary played really well.”

Vickers, who worked for four years as a teaching professional in Switzerland before coming to Newcastle, is excited to finally have the chance to compete in the showpiece.

He said: “I’ve never made it to this final before and I’m looking forward to getting out to Turkey.”