Austrian waltzes in at Walton Heath

Thomas Wagenhofer, (left) is getting ready for the ‘highlight of a lifetime’ after reaching the Lombard Trophy grand final at Gleneagles.

Sevenoaks-based Austrian amateur Wagenhofer partnered Wildernesse Golf Club PGA Professional David Green in the regional qualifying event at Walton Heath.

And the pair carded a nine under par round of 63 to win by just one shot ahead of Mark Allison and Stuart Craigie of Guildford’s Bramley Golf Club, and Paul Grotier and Paul Melia, of Essex Golf & Country Club near Colchester.

Now the Kent duo will play in the £80,000 final played over the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles between September 1-2.

And for Wagenhofer, the chance to play at the famous Ryder Cup venue is a dream come true.

“It’s absolutely fantastic to win, and to play in a final at Gleneagles will be a highlight of a lifetime,” he said.

“It’s the kind of thing you dream about, so not only did I have a great day of golf, I got an incredible prize at the end of it. The whole thing was just brilliant.”

Wagenhofer admitted the pair had done their homework and it served them well.

“We came here beforehand to practise, we played the 18 holes and it gave us a lot of confidence,” he explained.

“It helped us with club selection and knowing where the difficult places were. It made a real difference but we still had to go and do it.”

Wagenhofer, who plays off a handicap of 10, has been a member at Wildernesse for five years since moving to England from the USA.

“When I left Austria I went to university in Texas which is where I learned my golf,” said the 44-year-old who works in oil and gas investment.

Green is a former finalist who came third at Antalya in Turkey six years ago.

“After getting through before I knew what sort of score we might need,” he said.

“We were seven under par going to the 16th hole and I said to Thomas we needed to finish at nine under par if we were to have a chance.

“And we got a nett birdie there which proved decisive in the end.”

Green is hoping that his previous experience in the event will benefit him at Gleneagles.

“I’m certainly looking forward to going back to the final,” he added.

“When I played there before it was for my previous club so it’s nice to get there with Wildernesse and maybe I can do even better this time.”