Saffron Walden pair renew partnership

Saffron Walden PGA Professional Rob McNicholas can’t wait to renew a fruitful partnership at the Golfbreaks.com PGA Fourball Championship regional qualifier.

McNicholas, 36, will team up with club-mate Aaron Howard, left, 12 months on from their successful bid to reach the final last summer.

And they are looking to go one better after narrowly missing the cut in the SkyCaddie and BMW supported championship final by just one shot last time around.

The pair’s bid for a return to the showpiece event will begin at Bush Hill Park on June 15.

Should they finish among the front-runners there they will tee up a £33,250 grand final at Carden Park on August 12-14.

McNicholas, who is in his second spell at Saffron Walden having spent two years working in New Zealand, is confident the pair have what it takes to qualify once again.

“We did well last year, although in the end we were really disappointed not to make the cut,” he admitted.

“As club pros we’re all busy and sometimes it’s difficult to find the time to go out and play competitive golf, but this is an event I really enjoy and was really keen to take part in this year.

“I get on well with Aaron and even though our games are quite similar, we actually dovetail well when we’re out on the course.”

McNicholas had a spell away from competitive golf while working overseas at Takapuna Golf Club in Auckland but he admitted the experience he gained more than made up for the lost playing time.

“You were really thrown in the deep end out there,” he recalled.

“I went from being an assistant professional to really being put on the front-line in a full-time coaching position.

“I would regularly work in the bays around golfers like Lydia Ko, which just gives you an idea of the quality of the players we had at the facility at that time.

“Me and my wife really enjoyed our time over in New Zealand and I’m pleased to be able to bring those experiences back to Saffron Walden with me.”

Other pairings competing in the qualifier at Bush Hill Park include: Chase Davis (Stapleford Abbotts) and Alex Beckett (Peter Field), Darren Charlton (Dunstable Downs) and Alex White (Romiley), Richard Hayden and Stuart Mason (Welwyn Garden City), and Nicholas Pateman (Pinner Hill) and Glen Portelli (Verulam).