PGA professional Robert Hunter (left) and club captain Terence Higgins (right). Image courtesy of Getty Images.
[16 November 2011], A Surrey golf club captain will have his late father in his thoughts when he competes in a prestigious national PGA final.
Malden Golf Club captain Terry Higgins is teaming up with PGA pro Robert Hunter in The Lombard Challenge in Turkey. 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. For Higgins, the event has special significance as his father Mike, also a former Malden captain, passed away earlier this year.
"My father was club captain between 1999 and 2000 and he played with Robert who will be my playing partner in Turkey," said Higgins. 'He sadly passed away in March but would have loved to have come out and see us playing in the final. My mother and wife will be travelling out with us though."
The pair earned their place in the final with a superb performance in the qualifier at The Oxfordshire where they carded one of the competition's best ever scores with a 14-under-par round of 58. It included a hole-in-one by Hunter who admitted it was the best round he had ever been involved with.
Higgins recalled: "It was just one of those days and we could hardly have made a better start. We were already five under after four holes then Rob had a hole in one at the fifth. At that point, you know you've probably done enough but we dared not think about that."
But Higgins insists their qualifying fireworks will count for little when they line up against their rivals in the final.
"Afterwards I think Rob said that when you wake up the next morning, you're back to level par - that's very true and something we will take to the final with us."
Higgins, who plays off a handicap of 12, believes he is in safe hands with Hunter.
"We play quite a lot together in pro-captain events. Rob is not the sort of man to panic when things are going wrong and he won't try and change your swing halfway around," he added. "He'll just offer up a quiet word and that's all you need. Rob's obviously very a very experienced player but he also realises there's no point applying any silly pressure. He knows the captain also has an important role to play. Malden is a true members club and we're both very proud to be representing them in Turkey. We're very much looking forward to it."
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.
