And his record at the Sutton Coldfield course did not fill him full of confidence as he attempted to end that run.

But Soto posted two under par to finish ahead of the pack with George Ryall of Bristol's Players Club.

Soto will now be in the final which will be played over 72-holes at The Oxfordshire, from August 10-13 and is also supported by Peugeot and MPI Financial Services

He said: 'I'd played Little Aston a few times and always struggled there.

'But this time it was a pleasure and there was only one blip when the course did bite me back.

'I double bogeyed the 14th after putting my tee shot in the bunker.

'But apart from that, the day went well and it was great to reach my first ever Glenmuir final after years of trying.

'I haven't been playing that much recently either as I have a three-month old daughter called Lola.

'But sometimes it can happen like that.'

By contrast, Ryall had never played Little Aston before but, despite bogeying the first, he also shot two under par.

Ryall warmed up for his defense of the Senior PGA Professional Championship

He will be back at the Northants County course next week for the Seniors event.

But he also made sure of a place in the Glenmuir final: 'Things haven't been going too badly for me over the last year,' said Ryall, 51.

'I'm trying to establish myself on the Seniors Tour and that means staying competitive.

'But I've always had a passion for the regions and it was great to come to Little Aston for the first time, it's a beautiful course.

'I had to play the Midlands qualifier as the West Region event at Saunton clashes with the Senior PGA Championship.

'So I spotted that Little Aston was hosting the Midlands event and thankfully I got in. I'm glad I did.

'The greens were a bit difficult so I didn't think there'd be too many low scores,' he said.

'But I've done okay in the Glenmuir over the years and I'm looking forward to the final at The Oxfordshire which I'm sure will be a real test.

'And I hope we're due some good weather this year, last year's final at Dundonald Links was a great course but the weather conditions were awful.'

There were good scores from Cameron Clarke and James Crompton

GLENMUIR PGA PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP in association with Peugeot & MPI Midland Region qualifier at Little Aston Golf Club, Friday 21 May 2010

Qualifiers:

Pos. Score Name Represents

1= 70 (-2) George Ryall Players Club

Nick Soto Northants County

3 71 (-1) Jon Williamson Scarthingwell

4= 72 (Par) Tommy Robinson Ravenmeadow

Wayne Alcock Tamworth Municipal

Chris Hall Rushcliffe

David Mee Longcliffe

Kevin Taylor Brailsford

Cameron Clark Moor Hall

James Crompton Kenilworth

Carl Sainsbury Brampton Heath

Philip Edwards Notts

13= 73 (+1) Nevil Bland Brocton Hall

Ian Lyner The Leicestershire

Kevin Crossland Worksop

Robert Ellis Springwater

Philip Cary Lakeside GC

18= 74 (+2) Darren Murphy Stonebridge

Daniel Sturgeon Hallowes

Neil Evans Greetham Valley

Image of Nick Soto is (C) Jan Kruger at Getty Images

Results from the event at Little Aston can be found under 'Schedule, Scores and Results' at

http://www.pga.info/PGAProfessionalChampionship.aspx

Visit www.PGA.info for up to date reports and scores throughout the season from the Glenmuir PGA Professional Championship and all PGA tournaments