Sutton Coldfield pro in treble challenge

Little Aston PGA Professional Brian Rimmer is teeing up a shot at a hat-trick in the Golfplan Insurance PGA Pro-Captain Challenge final in Turkey.

The West Midlands golfer will pair up with club captain Geoffrey Hands in an attempt to claim the title for an unprecedented third time over Antalya Golf Club’s PGA Sultan Course on November 26-27.

Long-serving Rimmer, who joined the club in 2003, claimed the title twice and finished runner up once in the mid-noughties when the final was held in Bahrain.

But this is the first time the club have qualified to play in the final since it moved to Turkey in 2010.

This year’s championship, which carries a £25,000 prize fund and is supported by Canopius, will also mark a first appearance in a national final for retired financial services director Hands, a member at Little Aston for 35 years.

The 17 handicapper, who also enjoys skiing and travelling, is closing in on the halfway point of his two-year term as club captain, and hopes to celebrate by supporting the club’s bid for a landmark treble.

“Golf is an unpredictable game so it’s fair to say I never expected to qualify for this final,” Hands, below, explained.

“I’m really looking forward to it. I enjoy travelling to play golf overseas and I’ve heard a lot of good things about the course.

“I get a lot of opportunities to play with Brian, as we play a lot of charity rounds on behalf of the Duchenne Children’s Trust against club members.

“I’m not sure how other clubs do things, but maybe that could give us a bit of an advantage when we’re out in Turkey.

“My late father played at Little Aston for about 10 years and it is a real privilege to represent the club as captain – I just hope to do everyone proud in the final.”

Rimmer, meanwhile, said he will not be focusing on records when he flies out to Antalya.

“We enter this event every year, we’ve not been lucky enough to reach the final recently, unfortunately,” he said.

“We’re excited to be there this year, but to start with we need to go over there, enjoy the experience and see what happens.

“The qualifier itself was strange – we were at one-under-par, we certainly weren’t setting the course alight!

“But then we hit a couple of birdies, Geoff got a nett eagle and suddenly we had qualified.

“We just can’t wait to get to Turkey now.”