Yorkshire golfer tees up pro career

Ambitious Yorkshire-born golfer Helen Searle is preparing to take a promising playing career to the next level, and compete in her first-ever professional tournament.

As a teenager Searle was recognised as one of the brightest talents in the region, climbing up through the amateur ranks in Halifax to build up an honours roll which belied her formative years and led to recognition on the international stage.

A Yorkshire junior champion, she was soon competing on behalf of her country and making her mark in prestigious international events such as the 2010 Faldo Series Grand Final.

Now the 21-year-old Huddersfield-based assistant PGA Professional will attempt to build on her amateur successes in the professional arena, starting with the Powerade PGA Assistants’ Championship north regional qualifier at Penwortham (above) on April 30.

If Searle can succeed there she will be presented with the opportunity to compete in the £32,500 FootJoy-supported showpiece at Coventry Golf Club on June 11-13.

“I’ve not set myself any firm goals ahead of this event,” she said. “I want to do well, but I guess my main priority is to make sure I focus on my own game and don’t get too carried away on trying to meet targets.

“Although it’s always nice to receive compliments about my achievements in amateur golf, I’m aware that they won’t guarantee me any success at this level.

“The professional game is completely different, but I’m hoping that I can make a name for myself and hopefully gain some really good experience along the way.”

Searle’s approach to tournament golf has largely been shaped by her sports psychology studies, a field she embraced while undertaking a hard-earned sports scholarship at Oregon State University in America.

She is now a certified Mind Factor coach and runs her own business, 3DVision, which trains sportspeople on how to prepare mentally for competitive action.

“Golf is most definitely a mind game,” Searle explained. “It’s about taking what you can do on the practice ground and transferring it into a tournament environment.

“I really enjoy that side of things, I love coaching other sportsmen and women and helping them to improve.

Searle is currently studying on The PGA’s degree programme which, as well as playing golf to a high level, requires students to learn about all aspects of the sport from rules and repairs, to business and equipment technology.

“The PGA degree is great in that it opens your eyes to all sorts of different careers in golf,” she said.

“But I love my coaching and if I can get my game to a good enough standard that I can play on tour then I would obviously love to do that as well, and I would be daft to give it up!”

Ahead of the event Luke Young, national and key account manager for Coca-Cola Enterprises, whose products include Powerade, said: “We are delighted to once again support this prestigious tournament which will culminate with a final at Coventry Golf Club in June.

“It is an event which has a long history of showcasing outstanding golf from some of the country’s best young players, and I look forward to watching what will undoubtedly be another exciting Championship this year.”

Other players competing in the north regional qualifier include: Kristoffer Bengtsson (Parklands), Mark Bentley (Boothferry), Michael Clarke (Trafford), Gareth Davies (Abbeydale), Matthew Harrison (Formby) and Andrew Rigby (Rudding Park).