Chris Aims High
May 12 2008 by The Journal
Rising North east star Chris Paisley is continuing to make his mark at the University of Tennessee in the United States and is currently 54th in the R&A World Amateur Golf Rankings. The 23-year-old from Stocksfield Golf Club is the reigning Northumberland County Champion and will be hoping to repeat his golfing feats of last year this summer.
Chris enjoyed a superb 2007, not only winning the Northumberland County Championship for the first time, but also becoming the first amateur to win a PGA North Region event in the Rock Tournament at Matfen Hall.
Coincidentally, this is where his elder brother Andrew, who also won the County Championship in 2000, is an assistant professional.
Chris has also become the first young golfer to progress from Northumberland's Development Programme into the English Golf Union's Elite Squad, which is worth around £10,000 to each golfer selected.
Chris said: "I cannot thank the EGU enough for the help they are giving me. I never expected it, but the grant is of tremendous assistance, and means I'm not only given the opportunity to improve my game, and apart from helping to provide equipment, can also include gym memberships, and psychologists. Nowadays, they're all quite expensive. Hopefully, because of such support, I should maximise my potential."
Chris Robinson, Founder of the NJGA, said: "Chris is not only one of the best graduates from the NJGA, but also the third best in the history of Northumberland golf. He's following in the footsteps of Ashington's European Tour professional Kenneth Ferrie, now successfully launched on to the professional circuits on both sides of the Atlantic.
"The second best Northumberland Amateur to graduate from the NJGA was Alnmouth's Peter Deeble, who won the English Amateur Championship in 1976. He followed in the footsteps of Nick Faldo, who won the English in 1975! Faldo turned professional in '76 but then in 1980, Deeble won the English title for the second time.
"That year Faldo made his first ever visit to the North East and in the Newcastle Brown Ale 900 Tournament at the Northumberland Golf Club in Gosforth Park partnered Deeble in the preceding Pro Am! Sadly, there wasn't a fairytale ending, as they didn't win it!
Seven years later at Muirfield, Faldo won the Open Championship, which was the first of his six Majors.
" It is interesting to reflect, that in the NJGA, Peter Deeble won the Junior Strokeplay Championship in 1972, Ferrie in 1992, and Chris Paisley in 2002! Just to put the icing on the cake, Andrew Paisley, also playing out of Stocksfield, won it in 1999.
"Looking to the future, after Chris completes his fourth year at university next year, he could turn professional and embark upon the European Tour. If that ambition is realised, who knows, but one day he could emulate Kenneth Ferrie."
