A GOLF trip-of-a-lifetime awaits amateur Mark Williams and his Sapey PGA professional Chris Knowles if they can come through the next stage of Europe's biggest pro-am competition, the Lombard Trophy.

Last year, the event passed the milestone of one million rounds of competition golf played since it was launched in 1995 by the PGA and leading asset finance company, Lombard.

Williams took his first big step towards a five-day trip to San Lorenzo in Portugal when he won the club qualifying competition on March 27 with a score of 40 points.

Williams is a 19-year-old sports psychology student from Guildford. He has been playing golf for five years and plays off a handicap of 12. His hobbies, apart from golf, include football, cricket and psychology.

Chris Knowles, 37, has been a professional at Sapey for 15 years.

He and Knowles now advance to the regional final on June 23 at Whittington Heath Golf Club, where they will play one round of better-ball medal play. The winning professional in the regional final receives £475, and there are valuable prizes for the amateurs.

The winners of 16 regional finals throughout Great Britain and Ireland will enjoy a luxury trip to compete in the grand final in Portugal from September 14-18.

Sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland, the Lombard Trophy is now in its 11th year and has an overall prize fund of nearly £80,000, with the winning professional at the final taking home £10,000.