HUDDERSFIELD Golf Club professional Paul Carman is among several north east PGA professionals in action at the latest qualifier for the Glenmuir PGA Professional Championship at Moortown on Monday.

Carman has an added incentive for reaching the final because it is being staged at The Belfry where he competed in the English Open nearly 20 years ago, but will face some stiff opposition for the qualifying places with Halifax Bradley Hall’s Rob Booth (the current Halifax, Huddersfield president) and Dave Padgett of Harrogate’s Pannal club who both topped the leaderboard at last year’s Moortown qualifier.

And they will all be aiming to cement a place in the £78,000 final being staged over The Belfry’s PGA National course from June 14-17.

The Fixby pro, who lifted the prestigious title back in 1995, is keen to return to The Belfry – the PGA headquarters – after an absence of almost two decades.

“There is a real incentive for me with the final being at The Belfry,” said Carman, adding: It’s almost 20 years since I played there in the English Open, and if I can qualify then I will be really looking forward to going back.

“I’m a past PGA Professional champion as well, so it’ll be nice to go and see my name up on the board at PGA headquarters at Centenary House. For a while I had a lot of exemptions from qualifying, but I have to graft for it now.”

This year’s Championship will also decide the Great Britain & Ireland PGA Cup team to face the United States at CordeValle in California in September, and having made four PGA Cup appearances between 1990 and 96, Carman admits that a PGA Cup year is always special.

“Whenever it’s a PGA Cup year, it always adds just that little bit more excitement to the Glenmuir event,” he said.

“I’m good friends with the captain Russell Weir and I wish him all the best for the PGA Cup.”