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 After his first successful attempt to join fellow Cumbrian Gary Lockerbie on the European Tour, Workington’s Will Bowe heads to Stage Two of the qualifying process at Hacienda Del Alamo near Murcia in Spain.
After successfully negotiating the first stage at Dundonald Links in Ayrshire the Cumbrian county Strokeplay and matchplay champion is off to the Spanish course to navigate his way to the final qualifying rounds at PGA Golf Catalunya near Girona also in Spain.
All could have been so different for Bowe who didnt have it all his own way through the 1st stage of qualifying at Dundonald.
As the draw unfolded Bowe started on the difficult 10th hole, a tough dog-leg 463 yards, par four.
The first tee shot headed towards a gorse bush but to his relief spotters were on hand. However when arriving in the area the ball was not found and Will had to make the long trek back to the tee to re-load testimony to the mental bottle.
He then made three with his second ball to walk off the hole with a bogey five and after a nerve-jangling first tee shot the three with the second ball certainly calmed his nerves.
He continued to make progress over the next 17 holes and finished with a creditable one over par 73.
The second day had a morning start time with more favourable conditions and Will took his chances and enhanced his position inside the top 10 with a two-under par 70.
Because the leaders were now at the tail end of the draw Bowe saw himself in the second-to-last group, out again in tricky conditions. But he returned a creditable 74 to maintain his challenge for qualification.
The final day was something of a nervy affair by all of the competitors who were all very much aware of what was at the end of the rainbow - the next sage of the qualifiers in Spain.
A steady opening par was then sent into a nose dive as a lost ball with the tee shot did nothing to calm his nerves and then a three-putt bogey on the fourth saw the heart rate increase a little bit more and the swing becoming a little quicker and shorter.
But not to be deterred Bowe again knuckled down in ever-increasing swirling winds to reach the 71st hole on +5.
The 17th saw Bowe pick himself up again for a final surge. A good tee shot left him looking at 197 yards to the flag, and then a sweetly struck five iron nestled about four feet from the hole.
The resultant putt was struck firm and straight for a stress relieving birdie.
The 72nd and final hole was a par five and after a good tee shot discretion was the better part of valour, and great course management saw Bowe play conservatively with a five iron before chipping and two-putting to achieve the first part of his goal by grabbing a qualifying position.
Next Monday Bowe flies out to Murcia to start his practice prior to the tournament which begins on the Friday.
A lot of preparation has already gone into this with the booking of flights, accommodation etc while the Workington golfer is extremely grateful to the support and sponsorship he’s received from Shepley Engineering.
Also in attendance in Spain, where he will no doubt be chief cheerleader, will be Will's dad John who will be giving his son all the encouragement needed to reach the promised land of the European Tour for 2010.
Getnoticedonline.co.uk will be with Will in Spain reporting on his progress with exclusive daily up-dates.
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