PGA professional Nick Soto (left) and club captain Keith Heard (right). Image courtesy of Getty Images.
[15 November 2011], Electrician Keith Heard hopes he and Northampton PGA professional Nick Soto will spark off each other in Turkey when they play in the final of The Lombard Challenge.
Club captain Heard teams up with Soto in the PGA Pro-Captain Tournament in Turkey after winning their qualifier at Henley in Arden in September. They will face nine other clubs from across the UK in the £25,000 event being staged over 36-holes at the PGA Sultan Course at Antalya Golf Club from November 25-26. Heard is looking for a hat-trick of wins after also winning the club foursomes and mixed foursomes with his wife.
"It's been a good year for me and I hope myself and Nick can go out to Turkey and continue that," he said.
Heard admits he has had to find room for golf amid his captain's duties - but says it has worked out well.
He added: "As captain, there's a lot of work involved and I've had to fit that in with my profession as a self-employed electrician. But it's all been worth it and this really has been the icing on the cake, it is a great achievement for the club."
Club pro Soto is in his first year at the club and has proved popular with the members.
"Nick is very well liked and the members are very supportive of us winning the place in the final. You never think you're going to qualify for a final likes this but I play off a five handicap so you always feel you can be competitive. Funnily enough, in the qualifier at Henley in Arden, we played alongside the professional who qualified from the Midland Region last year (Dominic Fitzpartrick of Glen Gorse). He was telling us how great the event was and what an occasion the final is and then suddenly we found ourselves in with a chance of getting there ourselves and eventually qualifying."
For Lombard meanwhile, the PGA Pro-Captain event has been a welcome return to golf following their long association with the PGA National Pro-Am Championship.
As managing director Alexander Baldock explained: "Having previously enjoyed a very successful relationship with the PGA in sponsoring the PGA National Pro-Am we were confident that partnering with the PGA to present The Lombard Challenge, a PGA Pro-Captain Tournament, would be an exciting initiative to be part of and one that we are very proud of too - and it has proved just that!
The Lombard Challenge, a PGA Pro-Captain Tournament
2011 Finalists:
| Club | Professional | Captain |
|---|---|---|
| Northampton | Nick Soto | Keith Heard |
| Westerham | James Marshall | Glenn McMahon |
| Malden | Rob Hunter | Terrence Higgins |
| Dukinfield | David Green | Steve Warburton |
| Marriott St Pierre | Craig Dun | Alan Beach |
| Ashbourne | John Dwyer | Martin Farrell |
| Downes Crediton | Barry Austin | Tony Cockayne |
| Shirland | Ian Walley | Paul Robinson |
| Strathaven | Stuart Kerr | Jim Preston |
| Mundesley | Ryan Pudney | David Crosby |
ENDS
For further information please contact Nathaniel Sylvester at PGA Headquarters on 01675 470 333 or e-mail media@pga.org.uk
Visit http://www.pga.info/ProCaptainChallenge.aspx
Visit www.PGA.info for up to date reports and scores throughout the season from The Lombard Challenge and all PGA tournaments
Note to Editors
Lombard is part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. As one of the largest asset financiers in the UK and voted Best Leasing & Asset Finance Provider by Business Moneyfacts in 2009, 2010 and 2011, Lombard provides various forms of asset finance to businesses of varying sizes – from SMEs to large corporates. Products include Hire Purchase, Finance Lease, Operating Lease, Sale and Leaseback, Contract Hire, to Contract Purchase, as well as multi-specialist asset finance products such as marine, aviation and specific wholesale and stocking funding for distributors and dealerships.
Celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2011, Lombard is headquartered in Redhill, Surrey, with an extensive network of business centres situated throughout the UK, and is an appointed representative of The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
