BALLARAT golfer Craig Boucher believes he has what it takes to challenge the professionals in next year’s Victorian PGA Championship at Forest Resort, Creswick.
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After winning the qualifying event and making the cut in this year’s tournament, Boucher has been invited back as one of six amateur players that will compete in January 2013.
“I’ll push a lot of the guys, definitely,” Boucher said.
“I feel like I’ve learned a lot about how they set the course up for the tournament as well. There’s a number of different things I wasn’t expecting last time. That experience from last time will help a lot.”
The 37-year-old, who is a member at both Forest Resort and Midlands, will be joined in the tournament by Australian golfer and former US PGA Tour player Paul Gow.
Gow, who turned professional in 1994, spent five years playing on the US PGA Tour with his best finish coming in 2001 when he came second in a play-off against Jeff Sluman in the B.C Open.
His golfing career, which has spanned over 18 years, featured three wins on the US PGA secondary tour and one win on the PGA Tour of Australasia.
He was also selected in Australia’s two-man team for the 1999 World Cup.
In recent years, Gow has become a popular sports media identity through his golfing commentary on Australian television and still makes plenty of time to support the PGA Tour of Australiasia.
“I’m very much looking forward to bringing the family down to visit Forest Resort at Creswick,” Gow said.
The $130,000 Victorian PGA Championship will be played between January 17-20 – the second time it has been hosted in Creswick.