A DROITWICH golfer has played the round of his life after hitting two hole-in-one’s to be crowned a tournament champion.
Gavin Bourne, a .04 handicapper who started playing golf when he was 13, secured himself two aces on Sunday (September 21) in a 36-hole final at Droitwich Golf Club.
The local golfer, who hasn’t landed a hole in one during a head to head match since his time as a junior, took on Tom Ainge to see who would be crowned Droitwich Golf Club Champion.
After the pair exchanged wins on the first two holes, Gavin went ahead in style on the third. From 175 yards, he hit a 6-iron and saw the ball land but couldn’t really see the green.
He said: “Walking up, there was a pitch mark about three foot in front of the hole, but also Tom’s ball five feet away from it. I said ‘Am I going to look a bit daft if I walk up to the green without my putter.
“And we got up to the hole and there it was.”
Gavin had waited almost a decade for a hole-in-one, after he last landed one whilst playing on his own around 10 years prior. But the next one arrived just 12 holes later, in the same round. On the 15th hole from 187 yards, he struck his 5-iron which hit the bank and rolled down towards the pin.
The club captain, who was refereeing, confirmed Gavin’s second hole-in-one of the round from the green.
Gavin added: “I thought he was having me on. I couldn’t believe it.”
He went on to explain that he plans to keep the two balls he landed hole-in-one’s with in a box on the mantelpiece “…although the kids will probably nick them and hit them round the garden.”
Gavin’s second hole-in-one of the round paved the way for an 8&6 victory to win the Club Championship. To celebrate he put a bottle of whiskey behind the bar and got some of the lads a beer, before quipping about how much that might have cost him.
His triumphant win secured himself a spot in the Champion of Champions tournament for the Faldo Commemoration Jug at Welwyn Garden City club in Hertfordshire – Nick Faldo’s old course.
He added: “Next year’s Captain will caddy for me. I’m really looking forward to it.”
England Golf Championships Director James Crampton explained that the odds of two aces in around is estimated to be 67 million to one.
He added: “Gavin’s achievements are astonishing – especially considering it was in a Club Championship Final.”
