Ben Cummings will be looking to go one step further when he begins his quest for the Crown Golf English PGA Assistants’ Championship.

The Dummer assistant professional, who finished second last year after a marathon five-hole play-off with East Berkshire’s Guy Woodhall, will be one of more than 80 hopefuls teeing up at Surrey’s Pyrford Golf Club on Monday July 6 aiming to secure one of the six spots available for this year’s final.

Also seeking a return to the final at Hampton Court Palace is Wisley’s Martin Woodbridge, who finished third last year – one shot away from being involved in the play-off plus fellow 2008 finalists Nicholas Smith (Golf at Goodwood) and Jonathan Shipstone (unattached), the 2009 Second Year Assistant of the Year.

Others in the field include David Holder and Robert McGuirk (both Princes), Michael Ball (Roehampton), Chris Corry (The Buckinghamshire), Tom Large (Wildwood), James Mitchell (Shanklin & Sandown) and Mark Hembery (Guildford).

Pyrford is the fourth of five regional qualifiers with the tournament having a total prize fund of £16,000. A total of 30 qualifiers will go on to compete for a £6,000 prize fund at Crown Golf’s Hampton Court Palace on September 28.

Robert Spurrier, Group Academy Manager for Crown Golf said: “We always encourage all PGA assistant pros at our 14 Crown Golf Academies, and at the 19 other golf coaching centres we have across the UK, to test themselves against their peers, and this event gives them a great opportunity to do that.

“Playing under pressure in national level events such as the Crown Golf English PGA Assistants’ Championship gives assistant pros valuable presence and maturity which they can take back to their daily life at the golf club.

“It helps in gaining respect from golfers who you are teaching at the time. Members and pupils love to hear that their coaches have played in the big events and are always fascinated to hear how they got on.

“Playing competitive golf is an important part of the PGA assistant pro’s life, but it’s also about organising events too, learning about retailing, shop-fitting, merchandising and the new technology these involve, and of course about giving excellent golf lessons – plus many other things.”