BLACKBURN golfer Tony Jackson fulfilled a dream when he won the Lancashire Amateur Championships at the weekend.

And now he has his sights set on another ambition - to turn professional at the end of the year.

The Southport-based player opted to stay in the amateur ranks after failing to qualify for the European Tour School last autumn.

And that decision paid dividends when he beat the cream of Lancashire to the Amateur Championship title at Ormskirk on Sunday.

"It's always been my ambition to win that title and then play number one for Lancashire for a year.

"So I was over the moon when it finally happened at the weekend."

Now Jackson, who works in a Liverpool warehouse to finance his golf, is focusing his immediate attentions on the English Amateur and Mid Amateur championships set to be staged later this summer.

And then in the autumn he will have another crack at his ultimate goal - a European Tour Card.

"If I qualify I definitely want to have a crack at turning professional.

"But if I don't then I'll probably carry on as an amateur because I've no interest in playing in the smaller tournaments." If Jackson does turn pro he's sure to be sorely missed by Lancashire selectors.

The 28-year-old is one of the county's most experienced players.

And he underlined his worth again on Sunday by holding off a strong challenge from England junior Nick Dougherty.

Going into the final round a shot clear, Jackson managed to stay in front for what effectively became a matchplay competition, finally winning by two strokes.

"It was great to beat Nick because he's the best 16-year-old I've ever seen.

"He seems to have a great temprement which at that age is a great advantage.

"If I missed a putt from four yards at 16 I was almost suicidal.

"But if he did something like that he didn't moan, he just got on with it."

Now the pair will team up to spearhead Lancashire's bid for the Northern Counties League crown.

The Red Rose men meet Yorkshire at Bradford on Saturday for a friendly.

Then next weekend they meet Northumberland at Pleasington in a crucial Northern Counties league fixture. "I'm looking forward to both games," said Jackson.

"No game against Yorkshire is a friendly because the rivalry between the two teams is so intense.

"And then we need to beat Northumberland to keep our chances alive.

"But our final game of the season against Yorkshire is going to be the important one.

'They've got five internationals in their side so that's going to be a difficult one."

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