Magician Graham aims to conjure up dream final appearance

Devon magician Graham Prigg is well aware he can’t wave a wand and expect to claim a place in the final of Europe’s largest pro-am.

But Prigg, who has been practising magic for eight years, will instead be hoping the hard work he has put into his golf will pay off with success in the regional final of the Lombard Trophy at Burnham and Berrow on June 9.

He secured his place in Europe’s largest pro-am alongside his Padbrook Park PGA Professional Stuart Disney, above, during a club qualifier earlier this year.

The winning club will go on to compete in the £41,500 grand final, which will be held in association with Coca-Cola at the Pestana Golf Resort in Portugal this September.

A place among the 14 finalists would be almost akin to pulling a rabbit out of a hat for Cullompton’s Prigg, considering he first picked up a golf club just 12 months ago.

During that time he has been tutored by Disney, who played an integral role in persuading the 38 year old to take his hobby more seriously after he had started playing the game at a local pay and play course.

“Stuart’s a great guy to have around the club,” Prigg enthused. “He’s got a nice attitude in that he really believes anyone can play the game.

“He’s won awards for inclusive golf and I would say that he was the main reason I joined the club.

“I’m the sort of person that will just want to get better and better if I really enjoy something and he picked up on that and pushed me.”

That same attitude led to 18-handicapper Prigg pursuing a career in magic after initially working in a care home.

“I became interested in it after I saw someone do it at a wedding – I just thought to myself ‘yeah, I could do that’.

“I got a bit obsessed with it and wanted to get better and better. In the end I was able to forge a career out of it and I’ve been doing it for the last eight years.

“I feel like that about my golf now, just wanting to learn as much as I can. You never know, I might be able to make that into a career one day, too!”

Prigg admitted he has been working on driving the ball as he hunts down a place on the Algarve.

“If I could magically improve one area of my game it would have to be my driving,” he considered.

“I always know if I hit the ball down the middle of the fairway that I’m going to have a good hole, but so often they seem to drift left or right a bit.

“If I can go there and get the ball down the middle of the fairway then I’m confident we can do well at Burnham & Berrow.”

Other players competing in the regional final include: Andrew March and Adam Cox (a) (Brean), Robert Glazier and Edward Mitchell (a) (Dartmouth), Leon Warne and Nick Morgan (a) (Grove), Alun Evans and Richard Bellars (a) (Newport Links) and Simon Swales and Charles Moore (a) (Radyr).