COBRA PUMA Golf a leader in golf equipment, apparel, footwear and accessories are pleased to announce the signing of Garrick Porteous with immediate effect.

Reaching the very pinnacle of the amateur game by winning the 2013 Amateur Championship, Garrick enjoyed an unprecedented impact within the game. Having already tasted the experience of competing at both The Masters and The Open, the young Englishman has established himself as one of Europe’s most promising talents.

2017 saw Garrick prove himself as a tournament winner in the professional game and across Europe. Setting out on the Challenge Tour again this year, Garrick looks set to enjoy further success as he seeks to claim his full European Tour playing rights and pit his talents against the world’s best week-in, week-out. Garrick joins PUMA Golf on a head to toe deal, wearing the PUMA SS18 gear including the new PUMA PWRADAPT shoes.

Garrick Porteous on signing with PUMA Golf -

“I am really excited to enjoy the rest of my Challenge Tour 2018 season clothed by PUMA. I am a big fan of modern and clean styles. I’ll be looking forward to getting on the golf course in PUMA snap backs, which is my favourite style of cap. I don’t ever want to have to forgo style for comfort in my footwear, so I’m really happy that PUMA have this incredible collection of golf shoes that look great, fit well and perform perfectly. The PWRADAPT shoes offer me the stability I need to play my best, and the style is a perfect fit for me- they’re like slippers! The footwear range, in both PWRADAPT, and PWRSPORT come in cool styles and colour combinations!”

Challenge Tour matters headed to Turkey this week for the Turkish Airlines Open. Having kick-started his Road to Ras Al Khaimah journey a fortnight earlier in China, Garrick Porteous enjoyed another strong showing in Turkey this time around.

Opening the week with a five-under-par first round, the Penny Petroleum-sponsored golfer looked set to enjoy a positive week.

With the weather conditions forcing the Englishman to play out his second round over two days, Garrick was faced with a nerve-jangling sixty foot birdie putt to force his way into the cut on the morning of day three. Managing to hole out in style, Garrick progressed into the third round buoyed by the dramatic ending to his second round.

Climbing the leaderboard thanks to a four-under-par round on moving day, the 28-year-old headed into the final day’s play in T22 with his eyes set on forcing his way into the top-ten.

Signing off for the week in the best possible fashion, Garrick delivered a bogey-free four-under-par final round as he proved to be one of Sunday’s biggest movers as he departed Turkey with a T9 finish and having claimed yet more valuable Road to Ras Al Khaimah points.

Garrick Porteous starts his 2018 Challenge Tour season when he plays in the 50th edition of the Barclays Kenya Open on the 22nd March. The event is being held at the Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi and will feature a significant prize fund to celebrate the half-century of tournaments. Garrick is looking forward to the start of the Challenge Tour season and is planning a few days in Dubai to further his preparations ahead of the event. Training and practice have gone well, but there is nothing like tournament play to sharpen your game.

The Challenge Tour is now worldwide and Garrick’s next event after Kenya will be in China. He will play at the Belt and Road Colorful Yunnan Open at the Kunming Yulongwan Golf Club on 12th April 2018. This is a new and lucrative event for 2018 and will be the third golf tournament in China on the schedule. His travels then bring him back to Europe for the Turkish Airlines Open at the Gloria Golf Club in Belek on 26th April 2018. He then heads to Portugal and Spain in May, which means he will have clocked up quite a few air miles after five tournaments this year.

Garrick is looking forward to the new Challenge Tour season. He can hopefully draw on his win and experiences of 2017 to ‘hit the ground running’ in 2018 and get off to a good start.

MB Partners are delighted to announce that Penny Petroleum, the UK’s seventh largest independent forecourt operator, have agreed to partner with professional golfer Garrick Porteous for the 2018 European Challenge Tour season.

The Northumberland company, who possess 48 sites across the north of England and Scotland and employ over 400 people, have enjoyed excellent growth in the past three years and are proud to partner with one of the county’s most promising sporting talents. Having claimed his maiden European Challenge Tour title in 2017 at the Prague Golf Challenge, Garrick Porteous is looking to go one better this year and secure his full European Tour playing rights for 2019.

A proud Geordie, the 28-year-old is delighted to have the support of a renowned local company as he embarks upon a big year out on tour.

“It is fantastic news that Penny Petroleum will be supporting me this year. If I have anywhere near the amount of success on the course as they have had in business in recent years, then I will have a very good season. Everyone knows that I am a proud home boy so to be partnered with one of Northumberland’s most recognisable companies as I travel to my events all across the world is a real boost for me.”

The family-owned and run business that was started by David Penny in 1994 has grown immeasurably in the years since and the company now works with all the major fuel brands including Shell, BP, Esso, Jet, Texaco, Gulf and many others. David is excited at supporting a local talent who he believes aligns well with his company’s ethos.

“At Penny Petroleum, we are always searching for ways in which we can continually improve and having met with Garrick on several occasions, he adopts the same approach in his golfing career. We are hopeful that the next few years will continue to be strong ones for us as a company and we hope that our local talented golfer has a similarly successful period in store as well.

Following his visits to Australia and South Africa in December 2017, Garrick continues his 2018 season with another visit down under to Perth, Australia. He will tee it up in the ISPS Handa World Super 6, which takes place at the Lake Karrinyup Country Club starting on Thursday 8th February. This is the ninth event on the European Tour schedule for 2018, with a combination of stroke play and match play, it is sure to provide much excitement.

Garrick is familiar with the course and the format having played in the event last year. He is hoping for some positive signs early in the season by getting off to a good start. His main focus for 2018 will be the Challenge Tour which resumes in March with the Barclays Kenya Open.

1st February 2018

MB Partners (www.http://www.markblundellpartners.com) are delighted to announce that the hugely talented Garrick Porteous has become the latest addition to their golfing stable. The 28-year old joins the roster fresh off the back of a successful 2017 season which saw the Englishman claim his maiden Challenge Tour title, the Prague Golf Challenge, on his way to a 37th placed finish on the Road To Oman.

Boasting an impressive record of achievements; Garrick has previously competed in both The Masters and The Open Championship following his victory in the 2013 Amateur Championship and was a member of the 2013 GB & Ireland Walker Cup team, where he teamed up with fellow MB Partners’ client, Jordan Smith.

Last season marked a memorable one for the Newcastle-based golfer as he recorded four top-twenty finishes while competing on both the European and Challenge Tour. The highlight of Garrick’s year came in July when he claimed the Prague Golf Challenge title, his maiden professional win, finishing five shots clear of the rest of the field. This year sees Garrick looking to go one better and secure a successful passage to full European Tour status.

The Englishman is excited about building on last season’s success and feels that signing with MB Partners ensures that a promising few years lie ahead.

“I am really glad to be working alongside the MB Partners team. The success of their clients over the last few years has been really impressive and I am sure that there is a lot that we can achieve by working together. Next year is an important one for me and the effect of surrounding yourself with the right team cannot be underestimated.”

MB Partners’ Head of Golf, Duncan Maxim, is glad to welcome a player that he has long admired to the company’s stable.

“Garrick’s achievements speak for themselves and there’s no doubting that this signing means we are welcoming another major talent to our golfing stable. It was great to see Garrick pick up his maiden professional win in Prague last July and I’m looking forward to seeing many more moments like that in the years ahead.”

The curtain came down on Garrick’s 2017 year, with a long haul trip to Australia and South Africa to start the 2018 European Tour season. He travelled to Australia’s Gold Coast to play in their PGA Championship at the RACV Royal Pines Resort. He shot 76-71 to miss the cut but showed some positive signs in the second round.

After a long trip to Johannesburg via Dubai he then played in the Joburg Open at Randpark Golf Club. He eventually finished 72nd out of 240 golfers but there were more positive signs to end his 2017 year. He made the cut and played nicely in the first three rounds to lie 39th with scores of 68-70-71 (-6). However, a few loose shots and no birdies early on meant he finished with a 78. Disappointed, but not despondent, Garrick is now looking forward to a well earned rest to reignite his batteries for 2018.

Overall, 2017 has had some great memories. Winning on the Challenge Tour in July at the Prague Open with a score of 24 under stands out. Garrick realises that he needs greater consistency to mount a challenge next season to achieve European Tour status. Further hard work is required, but he is excited by the new challenges that lie ahead.

Garrick has hardly had time to take breadth from the 2017 season finishing and now he sets off on the next adventure. The 2018 European Tour season starts this week in Hong Kong before heading down under to Australia and South Africa. Garrick’s category for 2018 means he gets into the Australian PGA Championship at the RACV Royal Pines Resort, Queensland 30th November to 3rd December 2017. This is closely followed by the Joburg Open which is played at Randpark Golf Club, Johannesburg 7-10th December 2017.

Reflecting on the 2017 season Garrick was a little disappointed that he could not make the top 15 on the Road to Oman (RTO). However, his overall game is going in the right direction and there were a lot of positives. His first win on the Challenge Tour came in Prague where he shot 24 under (66-67-64-67) to win by five shots. A great result and it ensured he played in the Rolex Trophy for the first time and also made it to the NBO Grand Final in Oman for the second consecutive year. It was also the year he became a Nike athlete and he feels really proud to be wearing their apparel.

A lack of consistency throughout the season meant he missed several cuts in big money events. However, his 37th position in the RTO means he has full playing rights on the Challenge Tour for 2018 as well as a number of starts on the European Tour.

As always, he is very positive about his golf. He has two great opportunities to get his 2018 season off to a good start in Australia and South Africa. After a couple of weeks off to rest and recover, he is hoping for a strong finish to the year.

This week sees the final event of Garrick’s 2017 season with a trip to Lumine Golf Club in Spain, 11-16th November 2017 for the third stage of European Tour qualification. Garrick qualified for this stage as a result of his 37th position in the Challenge Tour Road to Oman.

His final event of the Challenge Tour campaign saw him finish in 20th place at the NBO Grand Final in Oman. He shot 71-70-69-75 (-3) and played really well for the first three rounds. A couple of mistakes in his final nine holes of his final round meant his challenge for a top 15 spot never materialised. He now has to finish in the top 25 at Q School to gain a European Tour card for 2018.

Overall, this season has showed further promise as his game keeps developing. Garrick achieved his first win on the Challenge Tour, however, greater consistency is needed to sustain a challenge for one of those elusive top 15 spots. He is hoping he can bypass that with one really good week in Spain.

As the European Challenge tour draws to a close, Garrick has achieved one of his goals in making the top 45 for the NBO Grand Final in Oman 1-4th November 2017. This will be Garrick’s second visit to the Al Mouj Golf Club in Muscat and he hopes that last years sixth placed finish can inspire him again. He currently lies 35th in the Road to Oman (RTO) rankings with only the top 15 guaranteed a card for the European Tour in 2018.

It has been a long season, with some great memories and achievements for Garrick. He won his first Challenge Tour event in Prague in July and has at times played some great golf. However, it has also been frustrating with either one round or a few holes preventing him finishing in style and higher up the leaderboard.

The last few weeks have seen him play in China and been typical of his season. At the Hainan Open he shot 71-70-69-74 and finished 42nd and then the following week at the Foshan Open he shot 72-72-74-70 and finished 38th. An even better result looked feasible at the Ras Al Kaimah Challenge in the United Arab Emirates where he shot 68-70-68 to lie fourth with one round to go. He felt he put too much pressure on himself in the final round and shot 75 to eventually finish 28th.

As always, Garrick remains very upbeat and positive as he heads to Oman. A top two finish can see him shoot into the top 15 and gain that all elusive European Tour card for 2018. If not, it will be off to Spain for final European Tour Qualifying School at Lumine 11-16th November.