By Amanda Little

Published at 11:23, Wednesday, 19 November 2008

CUMBRIAN golf star Gary Lockerbie found himself £1,000 out of pocket after being thwarted in his hopes of playing in the UBS Hong Kong Open.

Lockerbie flew to London on Monday for a connecting flight to Hong Kong only to discover he had been balloted out of the event, which starts at Fanling Golf Club tomorrow.

A flood of golfers from both the European Tour and the Asian Tour were desperate to play in the lucrative event, leaving Lockerbie unexpectedly only second reserve.

His prospects of playing increased to first stand-by but by that time the 26-year-old former Walker Cup star felt it wasn’t worth travelling to Hong Kong, so returned from Heathrow on Monday night.

It came as a huge disappointment to Lockerbie as the tournament was set to mark his return to the European Tour, and he has lost money on flights and paying his caddie,

Lockerbie, who won back his full European Tour card after finishing second in this year’s Challenge Tour order of merit, said: “I’d expected to be able to play but ended up as second reserve. Although I’m now first reserve, it’s too far to go and not necessarily play.

“I was keen to play as I’ve been hitting the ball quite nicely in practice and I was hopeful of making the cut.

“It’s been a disaster really because I missed my original flight as there were delays from Newcastle. I hung around in London on Monday but then heard I was only a reserve.”

While Lockerbie returned home to Penrith, his new caddie Dermot Byrne flew on to Hong Kong, where he hopes to pick up a spare bag.

The pair will be reunited at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa in two weeks’ time.

Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk