Golf: Boyle gets pro career off to a flier

STUART BOYLE, who played his amateur golf at Harburn but is now a trainee pro at The Belfry, made a winning start to his career in the paid ranks.

In his first outing after completing his initial PGA exams, the 19-year-old won the Midlands Region qualifier for the Powerade PGA Assistants' Championship.

He shot three-under at Henley-in-Arden to top the leaderboard and now goes forward to the 32,000 final at East Sussex National in August.

"It was quite strange as I hadn't played competitively since September, but I was pretty solid," said the former Scottish Under-16 cap.

Boyle had been looking to take up a scholarship in the US until a bounce game at The Belfry last year brought about a change of plan.

"I was down visiting my uncle, who is on the greenkeeping staff there, and played with the manager," he said.

"He must have been impressed with me and said I could probably get a position there if I wanted one as some of the existing pros were leaving for posts in Abu Dhabi and Austria.

"I would still love to play on the Tour one day, but having the PGA qualification under my belt in a few years time will give me another option."