aug30 seniorsenrave

Having inscribed the past three Open champions onto the claret jug, Garry Harvey would love nothing more than engrave his own name onto the PGA Seniors Championship trophy.

The 52-year-old Scot will have that chance when he tees off in search of glory at the tournament next Thursday, which is being staged at The Stoke by Nayland Club, Suffolk, for the second successive year.

Harvey, who is based at Kinross Golf Club, qualified for the European Seniors Tour event after tying for second place at the PGA Senior Club Professional Championship back in May.

He is one of 20 club pros to have booked their place and who will now be rubbing shoulders alongside defending champion Sam Torrance and Ryder Cup hero Costantino Rocca.

But Harvey has been used to the spotlight via his very unusual role as the man to carve the Open champion’s name onto golf’s most famous trophy.

“My father did the job of engraving the winner on the claret jug for 33 years and then I took over,” he said.

“It’s the only one I do and this year it took a lot longer not only because of the play-off but because Padraig Harrington is a long name. I had initially got Sergio pencilled in but we know what happened there.”

As for his own chances of dashing off the 18th hole on the final day and putting his versatile skills to use, Harvey is reasonably upbeat – providing he doesn’t suffer stage fright like last year when he eventually finished tied 45th.

“I got my name on the leaderboard for about a split second when I went to six under,” he said.

“I happened to look up and see my name on it and I struggled from there. But I know that if I get into that position again I’ll be able to handle it a lot better this year.

“I’ve change my preparations too this year. You’ve got to be playing competitive golf to compete with the tour guys so instead of going to the range and hitting balls I’ve actually been playing rounds of golf.

“That’s the difference between the club pros and the guys on the tour. If they’re not playing too well they still know how to get the ball round and scramble a few scores, so I’ve gone down that route too.”

Harvey, who had an outstanding amateur career which included winning the British Boys title in 1972, will be with a few familiar faces next week having spent a number of years on both the European and Challenge Tours – the highlight being his victory in the Kenya Open in 1985.

He is one of two Scottish club pro’s making the long journey south, the other being Ronnie McDonald, who starts a new job the day after the tournament.

But it could be another Scot grabbing the headlines at The Stoke by Nayland Club for a second successive year as champion Torrance is chasing a hat-trick of wins after victories in 2005 and 2006.

But the former Ryder Cup winning captain, who also won back-to-back Seniors Order of Merit titles in the process, faces a stiff challenge to his defence from a cosmopolitan field.

Italian legend Rocca, winner of five European Tour titles and a three-time Ryder Cup player heads a stellar cast that also includes Australian Stewart Ginn, runner-up at this year’s British Senior Open, Spain’s Jose Rivero, Argentinian brothers Horacio and Luis Carbonetti plus current Order of Merit leader Carl Mason of England.

But the biggest threat could come from Zimbabwe’s Denis Watson who arrives in England chasing an historic PGA double having lifted the US Senior PGA crown back in May.

The tournament is one of a select band of four-day events on the European Seniors Tour and carries total prize money of £200,000.