OTLEY Golf Club's head PGA Professional Steven Tomkinson will be making his second appearance in the final of the Sky Caddie PGA Pro-Captain Challenge next month, but he may find conditions a little milder this time around.

He and his partner, Otley captain Andy Harm, will be competing for a portion of the £22,000 prize fund on offer at Arabella Golf in Majorca.

The sun should still be shining, but conditions are unlikely to be as sticky as when Tomkinson first competed in the final of this competition in 2005, when it took place in the stifling desert heat of Bahrain.

The competition is sponsored by SkyCaddie and supported by Golfplan and Tomkinson and Harm booked their place in the 2018 final after posting 39 points in the Stableford format qualifier at Headingley Golf Club.

They finished level with four other pairs after teeing off early in windy conditions, but, to Tomkinson's surprise and delight, they were awarded the victory on countback.

He enthused: "Never in a month of Sundays did we think we'd hold on to the lead. It was so brutal. We thought we'd drawn the worst of the conditions, but we were delighted to win it on countback.

"I have played in this final before, when it was in Bahrain. But this is the first time I've done anything like this since."

When Tomkinson competed in that 2005 final, one of the other clubs competing in this year's Majorca showpiece did not even exist.

Lakeside Golf Club in Wales was only founded in 2009 and this year marks the first time the club has entered the competition.

Represented by PGA pro Grant Edwards and club captain Steve Owen, Lakeside amassed 45 points to win the qualifier at Dunham Forest Golf Club.

Despite the win, the pair did not realise they had secured their place in Majorca and Owen laughed: "I think we assumed there'd be another round to get through.

"But there was one space available and we got it, so that was unbelievable. We were hoping for a good day but it went much better than expected.

"We're a new, young club and we've achieved this within 10 years, so that's quite good. We'll certainly be supporting the competition from now on."