Turkey twist for Durham duo

A golfing duo from County Durham are set for an impromptu trip to Turkey for the Golfplan Insurance PGA Pro-Captain Challenge final.

South Moor captain Michael Bowman, right, and the club’s PGA Professional Mark Ridley secured their place on the plane through the regional qualifier at Harrogate’s Rudding Park.

They originally thought they had missed out on a place at the £25,000 showpiece, which will take place over the PGA Sultan Course at Antalya Golf Club on November 25-26, after finishing the qualifier in second spot, two shots behind winners Oliver Cross and Gary Tavender from the KP Club.

But when the Pocklington pairing were forced to withdraw due to medical advice, Bowman and Ridley were given the opportunity to step into the breach.

They are now set to tee up against nine other clubs, including defending champion Jason Levermore (Channels) who will play alongside club captain Graeme Harvey.

South Moor professional Ridley said: “At first I thought it was a wind-up when Chris (Joyce, PGA tournament director) rang up but I’m really pleased to be taking part although I feel very sorry for the club that had to drop out.

“We shot eight-under on the day so were disappointed to miss out but that’s has now turned to delight.”

For Bowman the opportunity to play in the showpiece vindicated his decision to rearrange other commitments in order to play in the qualifier.

“It’s Tin Cup stuff,” he said. “I wasn’t actually going to originally play in the regional final because of holiday commitments but managed to change it.

“Now we’ve got into the grand final through the back door and I’m really looking forward to the whole experience.”