Towson's dramatic birdie sends Saunton to final

Paddy Towson, right, sunk a dramatic last-gasp putt to seal Saunton Golf Club’s place in the Lombard Trophy grand final in Portugal.

Towson, a regular on the amateur golf circuit, partnered Saunton’s PGA professional Albert MacKenzie to win the regional final at Burnham & Berrow Golf Club by one shot.

The pair carded a nine under par round of 62 in the event, which is run in association with Coca-Cola, as they pipped Jonathan Cowgill and Eric Hogg (Farrington Park) and Martyn Thompson and Andrew Toomer (Parkstone Golf Club) who were tied on eight under par.

Now Towson and MacKenzie will take part in the £41,500 pro-am final at Pestana Golf Resort, Vila Sol, from September 22-23.

For MacKenzie, it will be his second final in the space of three years after he made the Gleneagles showpiece event in 2013.

But it was only Towson’s nail-biting putt for a birdie at the18th hole that got them there.

And the 22-year-old from Barnstaple revealed afterward that he did not know exactly how important it was.

“Albert was keeping score and not telling me how we were doing,” explained Towson, who plays off a handicap of one.

“So when I had a putt of around 40-50 feet at the end, I didn’t know it would put us at nine under par and into the lead.

“When it went down Albert was shouting ‘That might do it!’. And he was right, if I hadn’t made the putt then we’d have lost it on countback.

“Would I have played the shot differently if I’d known what was resting on it? We’ll never know will we”.

The pair preferred Burnham to the alternative qualifier at Bovey Castle and it was a move that paid off.

“I ended the day with a big putt to win and a final in Portugal so it was more than I expected at the start,” added Towson.