Lynch set for reunion with Clarke after three year break

Former Golfbreaks.com PGA Fourball Championship winner Jack Lynch is teaming up with Lee Clarke again as the East Midlands pair aim to ‘defend’ their title.

They will be teeing off at the Midlands qualifying event at The Staffordshire Golf Club on July 17.

Lynch and Beeston Fields PGA Professional Clarke won the final three years ago but have not played together in the event since.

But even this reunion was put in some doubt when Lynch had his clubs stolen recently.

The Derbyshire-based player is hoping to get replacements in time for the event at the Dudley venue which saw the duo qualify for their last final appearance.

This time they will be bidding for a place in this year’s £33,250 BMW-supported showpiece event which will be played at Belton Woods Golf Club in Lincolnshire on August 29-31.

And Lynch is hoping for better luck after being the victim of theft.

“The preparations are going terribly to be honest after having my clubs pinched,” he explained.

“Luckily Ping are putting me a set together, so I should be good to go by the time the event comes around.

“I can’t say too much about the incident, but I was playing in a tournament and they took my clubs and the car. So it was a bit of a manic time.”

Lynch is desperate for the qualifier to go smoothly now that he is playing alongside Nottinghamshire-based Clarke again following their success in the final at Carden Park in 2015.

“I’ve had a couple of years away from the PGA for personal reasons but I’ve come back into it, Lee’s been playing with Jason Levermore in the event since, but this is our first real defence of the title we won three years ago - that feels like a lifetime,” he added.

“I’ve got back into golf again over the past 18 months. But I’m serving a three-month unattachment period.

“But me and Lee are really looking forward to getting back at it. It’s the first chance we’ve had to get back together again. We know our way around The Staffordshire too after qualifying there in 2015. But we're not looking any further than the qualifier."

Other teams from the Midlands taking part at The Staffordshire include:  Luke Howe/Mike Dewsbury (Brocton Hall Golf Club);   Kieran Nickless/Luke Towler (Telford Golf & Country Club);  Daniel Phillips (Moseley Golf Club)/Ian Martin (Kings Norton); Olivia Raybould/John Cheetham (Three Hammers);  Mark Sparrow (Halfpenny Green)/Matt McGuire (Little Lakes); Matthew Southall/ David Moorgan (Chase Golf Club).

For more information on the event at The Staffordshire, click here.