LANCASHIRE professionals occupy the top seven places in the PGA North Region Order of Merit leaving the rest of the counties playing catch-up going into the 36-hole Phoenix Gas Classic starting at Cheshire club Wychwood Park on Thursday.
And there will be a new name on the trophy, the fourth of a record nine ranking fixtures, with Vale Royal Abbey assistant Paul Grannell not in the field.
But Steve Parry, whom he beat at the first play-off hole, is lagging behind in the race for the merit crown he won last season.
The Hart Common man drew a blank when he missed the cut in last week’s De Vere PGA North Region Championship at Heron’s Reach and trails front-runner David Shacklady by 240 points.
But there’s still all to play for as the Mossock Hall-attached professional, one of five regional representatives in the PGA Cup side to face the United States in California in September, faces formidable competition at Wychwood where the £9,500 tournament in preceded by a pro-am on Wednesday.
Shacklady, joint second at Blackpool, will be looking over his shoulder at closest rival, Swinton Park’s David Smith, who is 56 points adrift in the rankings, with third man Barry Taylor, from Houghwood, a further 50 back.
Tenth-placed Moor Allerton professional Adrian Ambler leads the Yorkshire Challenge and Morpeth’s David Clark, at No 11, is the North East hope who aims to make amends for last week’s lapse when he went into the final round tying second but finished 20th.
Meanwhile, Richard Bean starts favourite among his Cheshire and North Wales contemporaries – he’s the Wychwood Park professional.
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