Parry gearing up for third Lombard Trophy Final

Hart Common Golf Club pro Steve Parry will be hoping to make it third time lucky when he competes alongside Andrew Picton in Europe’s biggest pro-am.

Head PGA Professional Parry and amateur Picton will go head-to-head with 14 other clubs in the 36-hole Lombard Trophy Final showdown in the Algarve.

More than 700 clubs entered the popular PGA National Pro-Am Championship which reaches its climax at Pestana’s stunning Vila Sol Golf & Resort Hotel on the Algarve from September 21-22.

Parry and Picton clinched their spot in Portugal after winning their regional qualifier at Fairhaven Golf Club back in July thanks to an 11-under par 62, which also earned them £450.

“I was surprised to qualify for the event in the first place as I play off 16, so it was nip and tuck,” said 48-year-old Picton, who has a handicap of 16. “But we dovetailed very well when it came to playing at Fairhaven.”

It will be Parry’s third appearance in the final after two appearances at Gleneagles in Scotland.

He was second in the 2014 final and missed out on the title by one shot with amateur partner Terry Battersby and also competed in the 2013 showpiece.

“I’ll have been in it three times in five years now,” he added. “I didn’t drop a shot at Fairhaven and Andy came in with a good few birdies, we had a good front nine, but we know each other quite well as he’s been my sponsor for the last three years.”