Muldoon Seals ‘Biggest Ever’ Trip To Gleneagles

West Berkshire amateur Richard Muldoon (pictured left) thought he had ‘blown’ a trip to Gleneagles after winning The Lombard Trophy qualifier at Studley Wood Golf Club.

Muldoon teamed up with PGA Professional - and former finalist - Paul Simpson at the Oxfordshire venue.

And they produced a dominant display to win by two shots after carding a 10-under-par round of 63.

They beat the home pairing of Dusan Gavrilovic and Ian Payne, and Wyke Green’s Michael Vandenberg and Paul Cooper into second spot.

Ex-PGA Professional champion Simpson and Muldoon will now play in the £43,600 grand final which will be held at Gleneagles in Scotland - the venue for next year’s Ryder Cup - on September 3-4.

But despite their impressive score, Muldoon feared it would not be enough.

The 52-year-old hospital budget manager from Hungerford said: “We missed a couple of putts near the end, so we thought we might have blown it.

Muldoon, who plays off a handicap of nine, has been a member at West Berkshire for 13 years but has been playing since he was a boy.

He added: “I’ve won a couple of things but this’ll be the biggest thing I’ve ever played in before.

“It’ll be wonderful to get up to Gleneagles and play that course.”

Former European Tour player Simpson, who played in the 2007 final, admitted he called on his experience to get through.

He said: “You like to think you know enough about tournament golf and try and see it through. But I felt we could have done with one more shot by the end. But then I always think that!

“I’ve never played at Gleneagles before so I’m looking forward to it.”