Surrey aims for Inter-County repeat

Three PGA Professionals from Surrey are teeing up for the chance to represent their county in a championship final at the Belfry.

Former English PGA champion Ben St John and Kieran Staunton (both Woodcote Park), plus Ben Daniels (Horton Park) will play together against four other counties from across The PGA in England (South) region in the SkyCaddie PGA England and Wales Inter-County Championship regional qualifier at Mid Kent Golf Club on September 16.

The winning team will head to the Belfry for the £10,000 grand final over the PGA National Course on October 14-15.

There will be a certain amount of pressure on the trio, who will be following in the footsteps of their predecessors Craig Cowper, Alan Lovelace and David Callaway who qualified for the inaugural final last year.

On that occasion Surrey narrowly qualified at the expense of neighbours Kent, after an excellent 10-under-par total saw them claim an unassailable two-shot lead.

Final venue the Belfry is best known for its ties to the Ryder Cup, with the biennial matchplay event having been hosted at the West Midlands venue on four occasions, in 1985, 1989, 1993 and 2002.

Jacqui Surman, senior vice president of international sales and marketing at SkyCaddie, said: “For over a decade SkyCaddie has worked with PGA golf professionals at the heart of the game, pioneering the use of distance measuring devices.

“SkyCaddie and the PGA Professional are viewed by golfers in a similar way. We are both trusted, above all others, to give the right advice; we both go into painstaking detail to help the golfer to achieve their best-ever score; and we are both highly visible out there on the golf course.

“SkyCaddie has its industry-leading course mapping process, where every hole is surveyed on foot, and the PGA Professional has his or her welcome presence wherever golfers play the game – coaching, inspiring and encouraging.

“We are delighted to support the PGA England & Wales Inter-County Championship for another season – it is an exciting event with plenty of pride at stake, and we wish all competitors good golfing.”

The other teams competing in the Mid Kent qualifier are: BB&O; Paul Simpson (West Berkshire), Sam Jarman (Sam Jarman Golf), and Thomas Fleming (Frilford Heath); Hampshire; Jonathan Barnes (Lee-on-the-Solent), Philip Bryden (Alresford), and Martin Adams (Swanmore); Kent; Charlie Wilson (Littlestone), Scott Stevens (Staplehurst), and Kyle Kelsall (Quin Direct); Sussex; Michael Hart (Nevill), Paul Nessling (Cooden Beach), and Lea Cooper (Burgess Hill).