Play Off places on offer at Royal North Devon

Lee Thompson is likely to be crowned the PGA in England and Wales (South West) Order of Merit champion after the final event of the season at Royal North Devon Golf Club next week.

The Dudsbury touring player has an almost unassailable lead but the inaugural West of England PGA Masters featuring the 36 leading West players, will also decide the other qualifiers for the PGA Play Offs in Turkey next month.

Paul Hendriksen (Ivybridge), a member of the winning PGA Cup team in California last month, automatically heads for Turkey as winner of the Titleist & FootJoy PGA Professional Championship. But he will open the door to a fourth West qualifier should be retain his second place in the West OOM or even slip into third spot.

So, the leading contenders for the top places will not only be striving to improve but also hope Hendriksen has yet another impressive 36-hole return on Tuesday and Wednesday following the pro-am on Monday.

Although another PGA Cup star David Dixon (Enmore Park) has only played three of the four qualifying tournaments he lies third and is in the kind of form to consolidate or improve his status.

But assistant-of-the-season Toby Hunt (St Mellons) is pressing hard despite a recurring back problem that will need rest during the winter.

Leading money-winner James Ruth (China Fleet) is fifth and will certainly mount a strong challenge to complete his most successful year in the region. He hopes to be one of the West players competing for a chance to secure a spot in a number of European Tour and Challenge Tour events next year, including the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

Adam Frayne (Yelverton), the winner at Cumberwell Park, Cheltenham’s Russell Berry (Professional Golf Europe Ltd) and the consistent Richard O'Hanlon (St Kew) are close behind and will be anxious to have the honour of being the first to lift the JH Taylor Trophy.

Royal North Devon, which dates back to 1864, has a historic connection with The PGA, as one of its founding fathers, five-time Open champion JH Taylor, was born in nearby Northam.

Taylor developed from a caddie boy at the club through to becoming its president in 1957. Some of Taylor's clubs used to win his Open titles are proudly displayed in the clubhouse. The club’s honours boards read as a historical who's who of golf.

Winners over the famous links include Taylor, Horace Hutchinson, Harold Hilton and Herbert Fowler. They will be joined by next week’s West of England PGA Masters champion.

RND general manager Mark Evans, a former Devon county star, said: “It will be great to have the finest professionals tested again on our historic links. We are delighted to be working with The PGA and we are grateful to our support sponsors for helping get this event on the calendar."