DAVID PATRICK RECEIVES £1,000 AS LEADING SCOTTISH ASSISTANT

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE PGA
Former Walker Cup player David Patrick excelled off the course as the leading Scottish-based PGA professional in the Titleist PGA Assistant of the Year awards.
The 37-year-old, based at Elie Sports Centre in Fife, finished fifth overall out of more than 250 of his peers who have completed the three-year PGA Foundation degree.
In recognition of his achievement, Patrick, who won the Rookie of the Year award two years ago, received a cheque for £1,000 from Titleist director of sales Ken Graham and PGA Captain Eddie Bullock at the PGA Graduation Ceremony at the University of Birmingham.
Patrick said today:
"I am obviously delighted to win this award for the third year in a row. I undertook my PGA training after a career switch from playing full time on the European Challenge Tour.
"My focus has been on building a coaching business, which I am now doing at Kingsfield and Elie, but I also enjoyed learning about the other aspects that make up the PGA qualification.
"I am grateful for the support Ian Muir at Elie and Ian Rae have afforded me. I am now able to concentrate on the next stage of my career, building my teaching business, http://www.shortgamedoctor.com/ and continuing to enjoy to compete on the Tartan Tour."
Graham said: “We are pleased to continue our support of the Titleist PGA Assistant of the Year award, recognising this as a starting point of the PGA's commitment to provide its members with a framework for lifelong learning.“PGA professionals play a key role in the development and growth of the game across all levels, and we are delighted to support the next generation of qualified professionals and to wish them well with their future careers.”
The PGA training programme, which was founded in 1961, concentrates on all aspects of golf including business, equipment technology and repairs, rules and tournament organisation, sports science, sports psychology and playing.
PGA chief executive Sandy Jones said:  “The PGA Graduation Ceremony at the Great Hall of the University of Birmingham has now earned its place as one of the most enjoyable and inspirational days in the PGA calendar.
“On this day we are able to celebrate men and women completing their PGA training programme and becoming qualified as the next generation of PGA members.
“I always feel enormously proud of these graduates as I know they have all worked extremely diligently during their training years to achieve their PGA qualification.
“Of course the graduation day will not be the end of the story but only the opening to the next chapter of their career as a PGA professional.  At this time golf is expanding across new frontiers throughout the world and it will indeed be many of today’s graduates who will take the game forward and successfully grow it within these new territories around the globe.
“They should all feel rightly proud to have successfully completed their PGA training programme which in the eyes of many is the best in the world and they can now go forward confidently with the PGA stamp of approval on their golfing passport which will take them wherever they wish in their careers.  I wish them all good luck and success wherever they travel.”
There are more than 7,500 PGA members employed in more than 50 different positions within golf with 1,600 working overseas in more than 70 different countries.