Ashbourne professional John Dwyer (left) along with amateur Justin McCarthy won the PGA National Pro-Am Regional final at the K Club last week and secured their place at the Grand Final in Las Vegas in December. Also at the presentation was Sabrina Cusack of sponsors Virgin Atlantic.

Ashbourne golfers for Las Vegas

Published: Thu 28 Jul 2011, 9:30 AM

Last updated: Thu 28 Jul 2011, 12:34 PM

Ashbourne golfer John Dwyer secured his third final in four years as he booked a trip to Las Vegas in the Virgin Atlantic PGA National Pro-Am Championship qualifier at The K-Club. Dwyer teamed up with Ashbourne member Justin McCarthy to win the event by just one shot after recording a nine under par round of 63. It meant they beat five other teams, Gary Wardlow and amateur partner Sam Stewart (Dunmurry), Derek Morrison and Peter Roddy (Foyle Golf Centre), Stephen Hamill and Ray Moffit (Lisburn Golf Club) and Mark Heinemann and Dan Brosnan (Skellig Bay), who tied for second place with scores of eight under par. Also on eight under par was last year's finalist David Hughes and amateur partner Connor Paton (Massereene). Dwyer, who reached the final in 2008 and 2009, and McCarthy came out on top for the Meath club after making an decisive birdie at the 18th hole. The pair will play in the 36-hole grand final of Europe's biggest Pro-Am event, which will be held at the Jack Nicklaus-designed SouthShore course Loews Lake, Las Vegas Resort in Nevada from Monday 5th December. Former PGA Cup team member Dwyer admitted he has takien a liking to the competition after continuing his impressive run. "I'm delighted to have qualified again and I'd like to go to the final and win it this time if possible. Whenever I'm in a PGA tournament I always try and do well and that's what happened here," said the 37-year-old Ashbourne professional. "My last two final appearances were both in Turkey so going to Las Vegas this time will be very different and I shall be having a look at the course online when I get home. "But whatever I've done before in golf, you need your amateur to play well on the day and he did. He holed a crucial putt at the 18th, but we really didn't feel any pressure at the time. "You could see the other teams' heads drop when we went to nine under par, it was a very close finish. "Justin plays off eight and I hope we can take that form to Vegas, but it's a long time between now and December." McCarthy, a 57-year-old primary school teacher from Malahide, praised Dwyer's ability to stay calm when it mattered most. "It was a pleasure to play alongside John, he made it stress-free golf. John's record in this event is phenomenal so you almost feel as if you're in with a chance from the start," he said. The PGA National Pro-Am Championship is now in its 27th competitive year. The winning professional at the Grand Final will take home a cheque for £5,000.