Hutcheon, Doak, Lee in PGA Play-offs

FROM THE PGA E-BULLETIN
The culmination of the domestic pro circuit season heads to Little Aston this week as 21 of the PGA’s best players battle it out for the right to be No. 1 at the Srixon PGA Play-Offs.
And this year’s field looks to be the strongest yet, as the Play-Offs are contested for the fifth year.
This year’s Glenmuir PGA Professional champion David Mortimer (Fore Ireland) and runner-up David Shacklady (Mossock Hall) will be reunited in the Midlands following their play-off battle at Oxfordshire in the summer.
Ryder Cup Wales 2010 Welsh Open PGA champion Richard Dinsdale will look to add to his trophy haul in what has been a remarkable year for the Parc Golf Academy professional.
Going up against them are two former PGA Play-Off winners, 2007 victor Paul Streeter (unattached) and 2008 winner Chris Doak, who sealed his place after securing the prestigious Gleneagles Scottish PGA Championship – the final counting event in the Scottish Region.
Also in the field are five other players who have all captured PGA National tournament titles in recent years. They are Jason Levermore (Clacton), Brett Taylor (Chelmsford), Andrew Pestell (Chelmsford), Mathew Morris (Walmley) and Steve Parry (North West Golf Academy).
With European Tour winner Andrew Sherborne (The Kendleshire) and Challenge Tour winner and three-time Scottish OOM champion Grieg Hutcheon (Banchory) also in the 36-hole showdown, predicting the victor is a tough call.
All of the players in the field have earned their place by right and while they will be competing for the £2,000 winner’s cheque and the honour of being the PGA’s No. 1 player, the prospect of securing up to three European Tour starts in 2011 is the real carrot.
The seven Order of Merit winners at Little Aston, plus Glenmuir champ Mortimer, already have the luxury of knowing they will be teeing up at Wentworth in the BMW PGA Championship. But the 13 players know should they win the shootout they will join them and also secure starts in the Barclays Scottish Open and the Celtic Manor Wales Open.
A handful of Challenge Tour starts are also up for grabs for the highest placed finishers.
Hutcheon, who has spent a decade combining his time on the domestic scene and the Challenge Tour, admits that the tournament is growing in stature and the prospect of playing three top European Tour events – he already has two in the bag – can have an incredible effect on whoever claims them.
“There are half a dozen or so events to qualify for and its massive for me and everyone else taking part,” he said.
"If you can get those European Tour starts next year and record some top-10 finishes then you can get your card. So it can be life changing stuff.”
The full field is:-
Greig Hutcheon (Banchory); Craig Lee (Aspire Golf Centre); Chris Doak (unattached); Steve Parry (North West Golf Academy); David Shacklady (Mossock Hall); John Wells (Cherry Burton); David Higgins (Waterville); Damien Mooney (unattached); David Mortimer (Fore Ireland); Richard Wallis (Walmer & Kingsdown); Craig Cowper (World of Golf); Jamie Harris (Nevill); Jason Levermore (Clacton); Brett Taylor (Chelmsford); Andrew Pestell (Chelmsford); Richard Dinsdale (Parc Golf Academy); Richard O’Hanlon (Lanhydrock); Andrew Sherborne (The Kendleshire); Mathew Morris (Walmley); Cameron Clark (Moor Hall); Paul Streeter (unattached).