No one is more eager for the Northern Territory PGA
Championship than Tour Pro Aaron Pike who grew up next to the Palmerston Golf
Course.

For a Tour Pro from the Northern Territory, the idea of a home
tournament seemed a pipe dream 10 years ago, but thanks to the hard work of
event organisers the inaugural Northern Territory PGA Championship will tee off
this week.

"You don’t usually get to come home and play where you grew
up and where you played junior golf. This is where it all started for me so
it’s pretty exciting," said Pike.

"Everyone has really embraced the tournament. We have so
many volunteers and there is even a big screen sitting up on the 18^th;
if you had said that to me 15 years ago I probably would have laughed at you."

"The tournament is a huge success before it has even teed
off in my eyes."

Even an undiagnosed injury couldn’t keep Pike from
supporting the tournament.

"My preparations have been very ordinary. I wasn’t able to
walk for six, seven weeks. I couldn’t practice, I couldn’t do anything. But I
have done everything possible to get myself right for this," added Pike.

"I have no idea how I sustained the injury, apparently I
have a genetic problem in my hip, but the problem is the doctors can’t get 100
per cent on top of it."

"Originally they thought it was something wrong in the
capsule of my hip joint, there is also nerve damage in the hip joint, there
were vascular problems too."

"To be brutally honest I am not 100 per cent right but I
wanted to play this, I will do everything I can to try and play the whole week,"
added Pike, who wouldn’t have played this week if the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of
Australasia had been anywhere else.   

"The doctors have given me the all clear to give it a go but
if this tournament had been somewhere else; in Victoria or South Australia I wouldn’t
have even come."

"I would have taken more time off to try and get things
right or maybe even write off the whole year."

"It has been very difficult but I am pretty confident it
will be fine. I have done everything I possibly can."

Not one to just make up the field numbers, Pike is hoping
that he can utilise his local knowledge to be in the mix on Sunday.  

"I am not teeing off on Thursday to shoot 80, 80 and go
home. I am not here to run 30^th but I also need to realise that
there are a lot of unknowns for me going into this week," added Pike.

"The benefit is that I know this place better than anyone
else. My 80 per cent might be able to get me over the line just because I know
the ins and outs of the place. Local knowledge counts for a lot."

"I know I am probably not going to be at the top of my game
this week but I also know that when I was in Kalgoorlie I was incredibly sick
and I almost won the WA PGA."

"I can look at the positives and know that even when I am
not at my best I can compete with these guys."

While Pike is unsure of what to expect of his on course
performance, what he is expecting is a big crowd to support him and the other
local Tour Professionals; Unho Park and Kevin Marques.

"I want to see as many people here supporting the tournament
as possible. Hopefully the club members and general public come out to watch,"
added Pike.

"Hopefully out of us local boys, Unho Park, Kevin Marques
and myself, one of us is doing well for people to cheer on."

The
Northern Territory PGA Championship will be played at Palmerston Golf Course
from 11-14 August.

In addition to the winner’s share of the $150,000 prize purse, the champion
will receive Official World Golf Ranking Points and be fully exempt onto the
ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia until the end of the 2017 season.