[28 June 2011] Former Midlothian county player Marjory Gillies will have the chance to reach a prestigious national final when she teams up with Greenburn PGA professional Scott Catlin.
Greenburn PGA professional Scott Catlin. Pictures courtesy of Getty Images.
The pair are in action at Crail on Monday, July 6, in a regional qualifier for the £25,000 The Lombard Challenge, a PGA Pro-Captain Tournament, which is being held at the PGA Sultan Club in Antalya, Turkey from November 25-26.
Gillies, who plays off six and works at the club, hopes Catlin will strike the kind of form that has taken him to two previous national pro-am finals including the 2009 PGA National Pro-Am Championship which was also staged in Turkey.
"Last year's vice captain asked me to step up and be captain which I was happy to do and the club has supported me 100 per cent" she said.
"I've been playing at Greenburn for 40 years and started when I was 10 when I was introduced to the game by my grandmother. For eight of those years, I've been working with Scott in the club shop - but this is the first time we've played together before so it will be new for both of us. I know Scott has qualified for two Pro-Am finals before so he has the experience of this kind of event. I'm a former county player for Midlothian and I used to play off a four handicap so I hope that together we can do well."
Pro-captain teams from clubs such as Falkirk Tryst, Drumpellier, Stirling, North Berwick, Montrose, Brechin and Dumfries will also be taking part at Crail.
This will be the 14th staging of the tournament. Last year it was won by Newport-based Parc Golf Academy pro Richard Dinsdale and captain Steve Hook. Dinsdale, by coincidence, was the last winner of The Lombard Trophy.
