Gleneagles spot is perfect present for Albert

Birthday boy Albert MacKenzie, left, buried the ghosts of past disappointments to give himself the perfect gift after qualifying for the grand final of the Lombard Trophy.

The Saunton head PGA professional and his partner Will Hunt fired an eight under par 62 at Bovey Castle to beat Cumberwell Park’s John Jacobs and Andy Kendall by a stroke.

It also earned them a place in the £43,000 grand final at Gleneagles when they will take on 15 other clubs from across the UK over 36 holes of the PGA Centenary Course from September 3-4 with the winning pro set to walk away with £12,000.

The Devon pair secured their victory on the back of a devastating burst of six birdies in seven holes from the sixth.

MacKenzie piled praise on his teenage partner who only started playing last year but has already seen his handicap tumble from 24 down to 17.

“I’m absolutely thrilled, we both played pretty well and shared the spoils,” said MacKenzie who turned 52 yesterday.

“I knocked it around in 67 but Will came in on quite a few holes so we dovetailed perfectly.

“Will had a little purple patch including on the sixth when I knocked it to 18 inches and he promptly holed from 15 feet.

"The whole day was summed up on the stroke index two, 451-yard par four 11^th  which was playing into the wind and where Will hit driver and rescue to 30ft and then putted up and holed for a wonderful four nett three. If we deserved to go through then we deserved it on the basis of his four there.

“The biggest thing for me is that I didn’t play in the regional final at my home club Saunton because I qualified for the PGA Seniors Championship at Mottram Hall and it clashed.

“But at Saunton I’ve twice lost out on a place in the Lombard Trophy grand final on countback so it was the sweetest thing to win here and bury those ghosts.

“It will also be a privilege to play at Gleneagles over the Ryder Cup course and as I said to Will it will be great to have played the course and have a feel for the kind of shots Europe and America will be playing in 2014.”

Hunt, aged 19, from Landkey who works in a ticketing company in Barnstaple, only decided to start playing golf last year after his friends went off to university leaving him with a lot of time on his hands.

But he has made it pay and can now look forward to what may well be a highlight of his golfing career.

“We were out early at 7.30 so had a long wait to be confirmed winners but it was worth it,” he said.

“I only started playing last year so to get through to a national final is pretty special, especially as it is at Gleneagles. Albert was the perfect partner and it was a privilege to play with him.”