Winter Hill pair hope to make it third time lucky

Mike Simpson-Jones and PGA Professional Julian Goodman will be reunited once again in a bid to claim a place in the Lombard Trophy final.

The Winter Hill Golf Club pair are preparing to compete in Europe’s largest pro-am together for the third time in a row, two years after they last reached the final.

This year they will compete in the regional final at Golf at Goodwood on Monday 29 July, with a place in the £43,600 grand final, which will be played over the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles on September 3-4, at stake.

Simpson-Jones (pictured on right), who plays off a handicap of 18, has already come a long way to reach this stage. As an amateur he has had to qualify from his club event to earn the right to play alongside Goodman.

But he is hoping that now the pair has been re-established, they can use their experience together to gain an edge over the competition.

He said: “Myself and Julian don’t actually get the chance to play together that much, but as this is the third year in a row I’ve come through the club event to play with him, we know each other’s game pretty well.

“I’ve only entered three times and made it through each time.”                 

But he admitted it would be strange playing at Goodwood, after becoming a regular at one of the tournament’s other regional finals.

He added: “We’ve always played at Saunton Golf Club in Devon before, and in previous years it’s always been wet, but the one time I played Goodwood it chewed me up so let’s hope that doesn’t happen this time.”

Simpson-Jones has mixed memories of his previous appearance in the Grand Final.

He added: “I think we got over-awed by the occasion a little bit and it got to us, but the chance to play at Gleneagles this year is a huge incentive. I love Scotland anyway, and used to be a whisky buyer for a supermarket chain so I know the Highlands well.”

Other players taking part at Goodwood include PGA Professional Anthony Tarchetti and club amateur Mark Jeffrey (Prince's); James Green and Reg Morgan (Portsmouth); James Ormerod and Mark Richardson (Newbury);  Tony Hilton and James Stewart (Lewes); Martin Daniels and Stephen Kelly (Gillingham); and Phil Bonsall and Robert Francis (Brighton & Hove).