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WHITNELL FACES THE PROFESSIONALS IN PORTUGAL

19th March 2009

Dale Whitnell's reward for winning the recent Portuguese Amateur Championship is an entry into the Estoril Open de Portugal being played at Oitavos Dunes Golf Club on 2nd - 5th April.

Dale Whitnell (photo Tom Ward)

It will be the Essex man's first taste of golf on the PGA European Tour but one which he hopes will be commonplace after he turns professional at the end of the forthcoming season.

�It will be good to play in my first European Tour event and I'm really looking forward to it,� said the 20 year old who plays out of the Five Lakes club near his home in Tiptree.

�It will give me a chance to gauge myself against the professionals and to see if I'm getting to where I need to be with my game.

�I'm not there at the moment but I'm bound to learn a lot and it will show me my strengths and weaknesses.�

Whitnell's success in the Portuguese Amateur in which he beat fellow international and good friend Jamie Abbott in a playoff, has provided him with a successful start to a season which he hopes will climax with the Walker Cup before he joins the professionals.

The Portugal Open will also complete a busy spell for Whitnell (photo courtesy of Tom Ward) as it follows the international with Spain at La Reserva this weekend (21st - 22nd March) and the European Nations Championship at Sotogrande (25th - 28th March).