Electrician Pearce provides a spark as MacKenzie tees up fourth national final appearance
04/10/2021
Saunton Golf Club amateur Mark Pearce helped experienced professional Albert MacKenzie to his first SkyCaddie PGA Pro-Captain Challenge final.
The Somerset duo won the West qualifying event at Cardiff Golf Club to book their place in the final, which will be staged next year at the Argentario Golf Resort, Porto Ercole, Italy.
Pearce and MacKenzie won the event by one point ahead of the Glamorganshire Golf Club pairing of John Maunder and Matthew Dearden.
Pearce, a 14 handicapper who works as an electrician, and MacKenzie had a steady round. However, they were indebted to an eagle at the par-five 10th that atoned for two subsequent bogeys and set them up for victory.
MacKenzie can now add the PGA Pro-Captain Challenge final to his three appearances in the PGA National Pro-am Championship final.
“Albert’s such a good professional which means we were always going to be competitive,” said Pearce, who has been playing golf for almost 25 years.
“Not only was it a great day out, the prize for the winners is fantastic.
“It was a course neither of us has played, but Albert’s side of the game is always going to be good so we thought we might be in with a chance.”
Pearce moved to Saunton from Surrey in 2003 and says the links course is a great place to play his golf.
But he has never reached a prestige final such as the Pro-Captain Challenge.
“I played in a qualifying event for the Lombard Trophy but didn’t make the final, so this is my first experience of what will be a tremendous event,” he added.
MacKenzie, captain of the victorious 2017 Great Britain and Ireland PGA Cup team, was delighted to have secured his place in the final.
“I have been privileged to have played in three National Pro-Am finals, one at Gleneagles and two at Vila Sol,” he said.
“I am delighted to have qualified for the SkyCaddie Pro-Captain National final in Tuscany for the first time.”
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