SWINTON Park professional Dave Smith is delighted to be the captain of the Manchester and District Golf Alliance – the biggest, most active and successful in England – for the next year.

The Alliance alternates between amateur and professional players to be captains each year and Smith succeeds Doug Craig from Davyhulme Park.

Smith said: “I turned professional in the USA at the age of 30, playing on the Hooters Tour, before registering with the PGA in 2003 and qualified in 2007 when working under Jim Wilson at Swinton Park GC.

“While working as an assistant I competed in the PGA North Region, the PGA of Lancashire and Alliance events.

“During that time I have won the Leeds Cup, the Manchester Open, Lancashire Open, Lancashire stroke-play three times, the Alliance Order of Merit twice and the 36-hole stroke-play twice along with over 40 pro-am and individual events.

“Naturally, winning the Leeds Cup was the highlight of my career having come close on three previous occasions.

"To have your name on the oldest professional golf trophy is unbelievable along with names such as Harry Vardon and Ted Ray.

“I qualified for the European Challenge Tour in 2010/11 having reached the final of Tour School and highlighted this by qualifying for the MMW championship in 2012 on the European Tour before being sidelined by injury in the same year which ended my playing career on a full-time basis and I could not play for over 18 months.

“In 2011 I was elected as the captain of Lancashire PGA and in 2014 I was appointed as head professional at Swinton Park GC – a club I have been associated with since 1996.

“I was honoured to be asked to be captain of the MDGA which is one of the first to help professionals get through the winter season with competitive golf and prize funds being provided.

“In the MDGA we have seen professionals such as Hugh Lewis, Alan Gillies and John Garner in the 1950s and 60s then with the emergence of players such as Denis Durnian, Mike Slater, Dave Screeton, Derrick Cooper and Peter Barber coming through, who have gone on to mentor the younger generation who followed in their footsteps such as Grant Hamerton and Phil Archer who were regulars on the European Tour and who play week in and week out in Alliance events.

“I feel very privileged to be asked to be the MDGA captain.”