IF Bromsgrove-based golf professional Kevin Dickens needed a boost in his bid to get his tournament career off the ground again, he need only look at Simon Khan.

Khan, ranked 471 in the world, won the PGA Championship at Wentworth on Sunday after beginning the final day in a share of 13th, seven shots off the lead, for a first prize of over £637,000.

He only qualified for the tournament the previous Monday and had to go back to qualifying school in November, two scenarios Kevin is more that familiar with.

The PGA is also a championship the 49-year-old knows well, having played there three times during a 33-year-career which started off as an assistant pro at Warley Wood in his native Black Country.

During that time it has covered all areas of the life of a golfer, from being a top club professional, to competing with some of the worlds best players.

They include his hero Seve Ballesteros, whom he almost partnered in one tournament and one of his contemporaries, Paul Broadhurst, who went on to play in the Ryder Cup.

But Kevin fancies a shot at the potentially lucrative European Seniors Tour and knows he is good enough to compete with the likes of Sam Torrance.

Although he is a patient professional - it took him ten years and seven qualifying schools to get his European Tour card, Dickens realises it is now or never for him.

Not for Kevin the private jets, the mansion in Florida and the luxury of being able to travel around the world playing golf on the budget of a multi millionaire.

His days now are spent practicing at Bromsgrove Golf Centre or playing in tournaments on the Midlands Order of Merit.

The nearest he has come to winning a major tournament was when he narrowly lost to Gordon Brand Junior in the 1989 Belgium Open despite posting 11 under par.

But he can boast plenty of tournament wins, several course records, ten holes in one and a multitude of stories gained from the life of a touring professional.

Like the time he was beaten by his wife - also a pro who learned the game from him - in a tournament play off hole. And playing through a Volcanic ash cloud at a tournament in Tenerife which ruined his shoes.

Or falling into the River Trent at Branston Golf Club after he had kindly tried to look for a fellow competitors ball, and having to play the rest of the holes in soaking wet clothes.

But make no mistake, Dickens, a staunch West Bromwich Albion fan, is deadly serious about playing and winning on the European Seniors Tour, which now receives worldwide television coverage and attracts big prize funds.

He said: “This is the next chapter in my career and I know if can get in I can compete because I know I am good enough for that.

“That’s not being arrogant, I just know my abilities and potential and have won enough tournaments and have enough experience to make a success of it.

“I aim to win multiple events in the next five years and my track record suggests this is possible.

“It needs to happen, because for one thing I want to provide myself with a pension for later years and I am confident this is the way forward for me.

“I am hitting the ball well, playing well in general and have never stopped playing since I was a teenager, plus I have the experience to deal with tournament play.”

But to compete with the likes of Torrance, Gordon Brand and Bernhard Langer, again he may have to go to Qualifying or ‘Q school’ in November in Portugal.

“Q school is something I think every pro dreads, although it is part and parcel of the European tour and something I am well used to.

“The pressure is immense and obviously everyone wants to avoid it but there are only so many places available for each tournament,” Kevin said.

One way of avoiding the Q school is to perform well in The Open in July, which Kevin is entering, but even then he will have to enter the qualifying round on the Monday before the main event with around 50 other pros.

Kevin has a career full of memories, anecdotes and near misses, all of which could fill a book, but now he wants to write the next chapter.

He said: “This is a real chance for me, the Seniors Tour is prestigious, more than it has ever been and I am relatively young for it, in fact age wise I only just qualify.

“I feel fit, my game is as good as ever and I know I still have the hunger and ability to compete in large scale tournaments.

“I have done teaching, sometimes alongside playing in tournaments, but consider myself a competitor first and foremost and still am, there is a lot to come from me.”

It seems Kevin is looking for his ‘Simon Khan’ moment and if confidence is anything to go by, he is more than capable of pulling it off.

Kevin is looking for sponsorship to meet his expenses of playing on the Seniors Tour and can be contacted at kevdickens@gmail.com OLDEST SWINGER: Above-Kevin Dickens at Bromsgrove Golf Centre and (Left) out on the course, Pictures: Martin Humby.