Three years ago Darren Charlton, then of Tilsworth but now pro at Dunstable Downs, came within a whisker of making the Great Britain and Ireland PGA Cup team (the British Isles' top 10 PGA professionals) to take on the United States in the biennial Ryder Cup-style contest.
He lost out in a play-off in the final of the Glenmuir PGA Professional Championship at Woodhall Spa. And today he took his first stride towards making the 2009 team when he led the PGA East Region qualifier in this year's Glenmuir championship with a sparkling five-under 67 at Hadley Wood in Barnet.
Charlton, who fired six birdies and one bogey over the Herts course, admitted he hadn't been aware of the significance of his play-off loss three years ago.
"I didn't really know what the PGA Cup was all about, but it was nice that the team went on to win (at The K Club in Ireland in September, 2005). There's a long way to go to get into the next match (being played at Carrick-on-Loch-Lomond next year) but at least I'm into this year's final."
That will be contested over 72 holes at Moortown, Leeds at the end of July, where the winner picks up £10,000 and has the use of a top-of-the-range Peugeot for a year.
Charlton was heading for a 66 at Hadley Wood, but his five-iron tee shot at the short 17th went through the back into a trap, and he failed to up-and-down in two.
His shot of the day came, not at one of his six birdie holes, but at the par-four uphill 11th, where his tee shot was embedded in rough and trees. A superb five-iron from 170 yards ended up 15 feet from the pin, and two putts extricated a welcome par.
"That was a saver", recalled Charlton. "I'd gone to the turn in a three-under 33 and didn't want to lose any momentum." He went on to make gains at the next two holes, then another at the 16th.
Welshman Mark Litton (The Bedford), who twice played in the Open Championship, in 1996 and two years later, was Charlton's runner-up, carding a two-under 70. Litton birdied the first and last holes, the eighth and ninth, but shed shots at the fourth and 12th.
The leading 15 players will play in the Glenmuir PGA Professional Championship at Moortown, from July 29 to August 1.