A trip-of-a-lifetime to a top Las Vegas golf resort awaits amateur Daniel Oliver and his St Austell PGA professional Tony Pitts if they can come through the regional final of Europe's biggest pro-am competition, the Virgin Atlantic PGA National Pro-Am Championship.

Oliver took his first big step towards a luxury trip to the grand final at the Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort, between December 2-8, when he won the club qualifying competition with a nett score of 66.

He and Pitts now advance to Saunton Golf Club on Thursday, August 25, one of 16 regional finals, where they will play one round of better-ball medal play. The winners at each regional final will secure their place on board a Virgin Atlantic jet for the 36-hole Grand Final being staged at the Jack Nicklaus-designed SouthShore Course.

The tournament, which is supported by SkyCaddie and BMW, draws in more than 50,000 competitors from across Great Britain and Ireland and is now its 27th competitive year. The award-winning Virgin Atlantic long haul airline is sponsoring the event for the third successive year.

The PGA National Pro-Am has a prize fund of £30,000, with the winning professional at the Grand Final taking home a cheque for £5,000.

Daniel Oliver, is a 20-year-old clay production operative from St Austell. He plays off a handicap of four.

Tony Pitts, 45, has been a professional at St Austell for 16 years.

Last year's winners were from Pannal Golf Club in North Yorkshire, with Dave Padgett and amateur partner Jonathan Honeysett collecting the trophy.