Former Preston North End players took part in the Lancashire Golf Classic last Friday, alongside other ex-pros.
At Shaw Hill Golf Club, the second tournament took place after a five year break. The PNE trio of Graeme Atkinson, Neil McDonald and Mel Tottoh went up against former players from Bolton Wanderers, Wigan Athletic, Burnley, Fleetwood Town and Blackpool - at the PFA sponsored event.
It was Bolton who ran out winners in 2019, but Burnley triumphed this time - with Brian Flynn, Steve Taylor, Chris Pearce and Terry Pashley competing for the Clarets team. Blackpool came second and Fleetwood third. Improvement will be required from North End, ahead of July’s PNE vs ‘Pool Ryder Cup event.
Dean Furman of the PFA, said: “It has been a fantastic day at the north-west former players golf day. The course at Shaw Hill was a great setting for the event and we were blessed with glorious weather. The PFA are delighted to see events like these for our former players – the day has been full of the former players sharing stories and banter, reminiscing about the promotions and happy times and revisiting all the high and lows that a football career brings.
“It has been brilliant to hear so many stories and listen to the many memories that live strong in the players minds and it has been a lot of fun to be involved in reliving a great period in all our lives. It’s really important for the PFA to play a role in coming down and speaking to and supporting our members and it has been a privilege to share the day with the players across several generations of the north-west teams and we are grateful to the organiser Paul Gardner for putting on such a great event.
“We are delighted to be able to support Paul’s efforts with our sponsorship of the tournament. Congratulations to all the winners and, in particular my old boss Brian Flynn, who was part of the winning Burnley team. Well done to Chris Pearce on beating a very competitive field to take home the individual title. The day was played in great spirits but none of the players have lost their competitive edge!”
You can flick through the best pictures below!
