Sleaford are the ace in the pack

Lincolnshire golf pro Nigel Pearce hit a hole-in-one as he and amateur partner Shaun Clare claimed the overnight lead in the Lombard Trophy final at Gleneagles.

The Sleaford PGA Professional, left, hit a stunning tee shot on the par-three fifth before watching with awe as it bounced once and nestled in the cup, much to the surprise of his playing partner, army platoon sergeant Clare, right.

It was the highlight of a fine round for the duo, who responded to the challenge of making their first appearance in the final of Europe’s biggest pro-am by stepping up to master Gleneagles’ King’s Course with a nine-under-par round of 62.

The resort’s PGA Centenary Course is currently being prepared for the Ryder Cup, and reminders of its stature among the golfing world were not in short supply as the players approached the first tee.

The huge grandstands around the 18^th were visible as players walked up the hotel driveway while tents, ready to house media and corporate guests in three weeks’ time, hugged the edges of the first fairway of the James Braid-designed King’s Course.

If McGinley’s men attack the PGA Centenary course with the same vigour and endeavour as Pearce and Clare approached the King’s, Europe will surely be in contention to win the Ryder Cup for a third consecutive time.

They started with a birdie on the first hole before moving into top gear to card an eagle at the par-five tenth.

Yet Pearce admitted that nothing bettered the feeling of claiming a hole-in-one at the famous resort.

“It was absolutely unreal to see it drop in,” he recalled.

“Shaun had been saying to me how he had been dreaming of us getting a hole-in-one and I can’t believe that we’ve actually come here and done it.

“In general the day was good though, we played really well and to cap it all off with a birdie at the end was really nice too.”

Clare, 47, has played at Sleaford since he returned from a posting in Germany with the army.

During his time with the forces he played courses across the globe yet he ranks Gleneagles head-and-shoulders above the rest.

“It was just golfing heaven out there today,” he beamed.

“I’m lucky in that I’ve had a lot of good chances to play courses all over the world when I’ve been posted to different countries with the army.

“Up until now the courses we played out in Augusta were probably the best – we didn’t visit the National but there are still plenty of good courses over there.

“But this is definitely better than anything we played out there.”

The St Kew pairing of Richard O’Hanlon and Andy Jones finished in second place, just one shot behind on eight-under to give themselves every chance going into the final day.

Their score came after a classy sequence of five birdies on the back nine which saw the early-starters take the clubhouse lead.

“The key for me coming into today was to play well and take the pressure off Andy,” O’Hanlon admitted.

“I feel that I’ve done that, and that has meant that Andy has been able to go in, enjoy his golf and chip in with a few birdies.

“We felt before today that eight or nine-under could be enough to win over the two days, so we are obviously delighted to have scored that sort of figure on day one.”