HAMPSHIRE PGA's new matchplay champion John Lovell is seeking fame and fortune across the Atlantic.

After five years as club professional at Brokenhurst Manor, the 35-year-old Merseysider is packing his bags and heading for the USA where he will try and get a foothold on the Nike Tour.

It will mean putting 200 dollars down to play in the Monday qualifying competitions from which just 14 out of a field of 130 go forward to play in that particular week's Nike Tour event.

Like the Challenge Tour is second to the Volvo Tour in Europe, the Nike Tour is second to the main US Tour and that is where Lovell aims to be. If he makes a few dollars on the Nike Tour, he will go for his US Tour card in the autumn.

He knows it is a long shot but the man from Lymington, who has been one of the Hampshire PGA's leading players since he moved into Brokenhurst Manor, says: "I am playing better now than at any time in my career. The time is right to put all my eggs in one basket and go for my tour card."

Lovell won the Hampshire PGA strokeplay title two years ago to con-firm his high-ranking status in the county. Last year, along with fellow Hampshire players Justin Rose and Richard Bland, he qualified for The Open at Royal Birkdale, failing to beat the halfway cut, ironically, after outscoring Rose in the first round.

"I have been able to play more tournament golf this year thanks to some sponsorship I have received," says Lovell. "It has enabled me to take in three European Challenge Tour events - I made the cut in the first event I played in Africa -- and by playing with better players, my own game has come on a lot."

Royal Winchester tournament professional Mike Wheeler can vouch for that after Lovell, driving long and straight and arrowing his irons into the heart of the green, gave him a mountain to climb in last week's Hampshire Matchplay Final.

In readiness for his tilt at becoming a fully-fledged tournament player, Lovell has left Brokenhurst Manor (where he has been replaced by Bruce Parker from Ferndown) and has gained an attachment with South Winchester.

Lovell flies to the States directly after the Open at Carnoustie. He still has to qualify but his performance last year means he is exempt from the regional qualifiers.

"If it doesn't work out for me in the States, there will still be time for me to come back home and try for my European Tour card," says Lovell.

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