Haggart keeps it in the family

An amateur golfer from Edinburgh who was bought his first set of clubs by his golf-mad father aged five is set to play in the final of Europe’s largest pro-am.

Kevin Haggart, 43 (right), will tee up alongside his Musselburgh PGA Professional Norman Huguet (left) for a shot at glory in the Lombard Trophy over Gleneagles’ King’s Course on September 2-3.

In total more than 700 clubs played across 16 regional finals this year, with the winner of each progressing to the £43,600 final, to be played just three weeks before the Ryder Cup visits the same venue.

The duo won their regional final at Crieff in a play-off thanks in no small part to the consistency of Haggart, a former chartered surveyor who now works in the water industry as a consultant for an engineering firm.

The 11-handicapper only began playing golf again around four years ago, having got out of the habit during his teens and later found his time taken up by other hobbies, including playing the violin.

But having returned to the course, much to the joy of his father who still plays the game aged 73, perfectionist Haggart has been working hard to develop his game.

“I’m not the kind of person who goes into something half-hearted,” he explained.

“If I want to do something I’ll give it my all and try to be the best I can at it.

“My dad and grandfather were both golfers, so it is something that has been in the family a long time.

“But golf isn’t the something you can just do within an hour, so I do spend a lot of time on the practice ground trying to get things right.

“In that respect playing in this event is going to be good as it’s not often you get three days with just yourself and a PGA Professional.

“These guys approach the game very differently to your average club golfer, and there is so much guys like me can learn from them.

“But what always surprises me is how approachable they are – I’m hoping I’ll learn a lot over the three days we are at Gleneagles.”

Huguet, meanwhile, will be playing in the Lombard Trophy for the first time in his career.

However he does have experience of Gleneagles, having played over the King’s Course in the Scottish PGA Championship in May.

“I can’t wait, I’ve heard a lot about this tournament and I’m really pleased to have reached the final,” he enthused.

“I think Gleneagles suits my game and Kevin was very good in the qualifier. He hits it long and got a few crucial birdies.

“I think the key will be making par our worst score on the day, and we’ll see what we can do from there.”