SOME of Yorkshire's biggest hitters will descend on Forest Park Golf Club next week as the course holds a regional PGA event for the third time.

Adrian Ambler, Alex Belt and last year's winner John Wells are among those signed up to compete in the Forest Park Trophy, which will be staged at the Stockton-on-the-Forest track next week.

A pro-am tournament on Monday is followed on Wednesday by an 18-hole strokeplay competition that will see course professional Mark Winterburn, the reigning York Union of Golf Clubs Open champion, also tee it up.

Winterburn is thrilled the Yorkshire PGA have again agreed to hold the event on the tough 6,673-yard par 71 Old Foss course and believes it is growing year on year.

"It is a big thing for us," he said. "We want professionals coming here and playing and seeing the course as good as it is and going back and telling their members.

"It's nice to be acknowledged that it is a good enough course to play a PGA event. It's a good field. The likes of Adrian Ambler, Alex Belt and John Wells are big players in the Yorkshire PGA and have been here the past few years.

"My game is okay. I have not played an awful lot this year due to other commitments but I will be playing and, hopefully, will be there or thereabouts. You never know. I still enjoy playing."

Winterburn has assured the visiting professionals they will find a course in tip-top condition. Wells struck the current course record 12 months ago with a fine 66 and Winterburn thinks that will take some beating.

He said: "The course is in brilliant condition. We had the York City Golf Day at the start of the week and our greens-staff were in on Sunday working to prepare the course. They work extremely hard and it is in great shape.

"I don't think you can fault it.

"It's quite long and it is not an easy course. Year on year, as it matures, it's getting narrower and the trees are getting bigger. Nobody ever comes and blasts it and shoots the lights out of it.

"Last year John Wells created our first professional course record - the year before we had bad weather and it was preferred lies - with a round of 66.

"That is our official course record. Let's see whether it gets beaten this year."