Wesselingh eyes hat-trick

Paul Wesselingh will aim to make up for the disappointment of his beloved Derby County missing out on promotion to the Premier League by scoring a hat-trick of his own in the ISPS Handa PGA Seniors Championship.

The 52 year old defends his seniors crown at Stoke by Nayland where Wesselingh will again be the man to beat in the £235,000 event which takes place from June 5-8.

Wesselingh, the former head pro at Kedleston Park, has enjoyed a meteoric rise through the senior ranks since gaining his European Senior Tour card, winning the PGA Seniors in just his fourth start, landing the rookie of the year award and then last year securing the John Jacobs Trophy for topping the Order of Merit.

He won four tournaments last year including a successful defence of the PGA Seniors Championship.

“I’ve had an incredible two years,” said Wesselingh.

“I never thought I’d do what I did in the first year. When I started it I thought let’s try and keep my card, make the top 30 and go from there.

“Then to win my fourth event – as well as giving me a two-year exemption, it gave me a lot of confidence. As for finishing rookie of the year, that was something I really wanted but never thought I’d be able to achieve.

“And last year was just incredible – to win four events, which was a quarter of the programme, and to win the Order of Merit was just a dream come true.

“I don’t know if that’s ever been done – to follow up being Rookie of the Year by winning the Order of Merit. I’d never have thought I’d do that. Now I’ve got to see what happens this year. I’ve obviously got to change my goals a little bit now.”

One is emulating the achievement of Neil Coles and Christy O’Connor by winning the PGA Seniors Championship for a third successive season; another is improving on his performances in the majors.

Leicestershire’s Bob Larratt (Kibworth) and Shropshire’s Frank Kiddie (Hawkstone Park) will also be in action against Wesselingh and the likes of Sam Torrance, Mark James and Des Smyth who, alongside Torrance, will also be a Ryder Cup vice captain to Paul McGinley at Gleneagles later in the summer.

The duo earned a place in the tournament after finishing in the top 20 at the recent Senior PGA Professional Championship at Foxhills Resort, Surrey.