TRACY Loveys steps back onto the big stage of women's professional golf this week after qualifying to play in the Ladies European Tour WPGA Championship at Royal Porthcawl that starts on Thursday.

The total prize money is a juicy £400,000 so if she makes the halfway cut she will have plenty of spending money for the rest of the year.

The Broadstone assistant was determined to earn a place, but it took a trek round England to finally win a ticket.

She explained: "The leading two players from each of our first five

WLPGA medals earned places and I finally made it."

She did so in style at Dunham Forest, near Manchester, where her three-under-par 69 set a new course record, and then went on holiday.

She decided against trying to qualify for the British Open at Royal Lytham as it clashed with a busy period at Broadstone.

Her boss Nigel Tokely was on holiday and the other assistant Mathew Wilson got married so she turned down a chance to try and win a place alongside the outstanding women golfers of the world.

It would have been a marvellous experience to be in the same tournament as Annika Sorenstam, Karrie Webb, Sir Re Pak, Julie Inkster and the rest.

But she has elected to play in her big event of the season nearer to home.

She said: "I have never played in this tournament although I did play at Porthcawl in my amateur days. It will be nice to become involved in tournament play again for a week and see if I can cut it with the big girls."

Many top players are in the field including England's Laura Davies, European Solheim Cup captain Catrin Nilsmark and defending champion Asa Gottmo from Sweden alongside Welsh number one Becky Morgan who is returning from a successful season on the LPGA Tour in America.