Jacques the lad sets his sights on Farleigh place

Matthew Jacques says his golf is benefiting hugely from working with former European Tour player Peter Baker as he prepares for the PGA Assistants’ Championship Midland qualifying event.

The final year South Staffs Golf Club Assistant will tee off at Coventry Golf Club on May 31 aiming to book a place in the £32,000 Birdietime-supported final which will be played at Farleigh Golf Club in Surrey between July 3-5.

Wolverhampton-based Jacques played in the showpiece event at Coxmoor Golf Club and tied for 27th spot in his first Assistants final.

And he says he is taking tips from Baker who has been based at the Tettenhall club for several years.

“Peter is director of golf and head professional at South Staffs, but he’s been away playing in the Senior PGA Championship in Michigan recently,” explained 20-year-old Jacques.

“He has a shop here and I work there when I’m not playing. I get to see him a lot though and we work together a lot.

“We have tuition and a game together quite regularly. It means I can pick up tips, very much so.”

Jacques took the PGA Course after a promising amateur career as a teenager.

“It’s a good qualification to have, the PGA has a great name in golf and the course is a good building block for the future,” added the final year Assistant.

“I hope to play more next year. I represented Staffordshire County for a number of years, I was captain for a long time.

“So I played a lot of county golf. I started from the age of 10 or 11 right up to the age of 17, captaining all the age groups.

“It was a good background and has given me a lot of experience from a young age.

“I’ve been trying to get in my preparation in between the bad weather, now I just want to be ‘match fit’ for the qualifier.

“But I did qualify for the English PGA Championship at Robin Hood Golf Club in Solihull, so I’m already playing in that final which was encouraging.

“Last year’s Assistants final at Coxmoor was challenging on a tricky course. So I’m looking forward to hopefully getting back there for the final at Farleigh which is a course I don’t know at all. I’d like to play and have a good run there.”