It seems a safe bet that when Andrew Marshall teed off on Friday morning he could scarcely have imagined the drama that would unfold on the penultimate hole of his second round at the BMW International Open in Germany.
Having left the 14th green two under par for the tournament at Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof and on the brink of missing the cut, Marshall made back-to-back birdies on the par four 15th and long 16th holes before the ultimate thrill arrived on the short 17th, as the Englishman made a sublime hole in one to scoop the stunning prize of a brand new BMW 640i Gran Coupé worth over €80,000.
Asked to describe how he achieved the feat, Marshall initially answered with “Pure blind luck!” but the truth is it was a truly spectacular effort, a piercing rescue club fired 217 yards under the increasingly influential wind that fairly rocketed straight into the back of the cup.
Marshall said: “I got the yardage wrong yesterday because the tee is forward and the car is there on the old tee, so after Miko [Lundberg] went long, I changed clubs and hit a good shot in the air. And so again today I went from a different spot to try to get the yardage right as it was absolutely howling.
“So I thought would I hit a strong rescue and I actually hit it damn well because it was getting really strong the wind. I just got it perfect and actually thought I’d hit hit it too well, it was going straight through the wind and I was thinking ‘This is going to be long.
“But then everyone went bananas then we all went bananas a little bit! I didn't see it at all; I'm too short. But the roar was awesome.”
Marshall also made a hole in one at the Challenge Tour Grand Final in Italy last year, an accomplishment he joked didn’t even earn him “a bottle of pop”, so the luxury car came as very welcome reward for the man who gained his playing rights for the 2012 season at the 2011 European Tour Qualifying School.
“It’s a very tidy car,” he continued. “I’m very happy with that; I still can't believe it but there we go. The most I’ve ever won is nearest the pin in a medal!
After shooting a modest one under par 71 on what was a low scoring first day elsewhere, Marshall’s flying run of birdie-birdie-ace took him to six under par for the tournament and very much in contention just three shots off the pace as the second round progressed.
But regardless of what happens over the course of the weekend, the 2012 BMW International Open will be one remembered by the Sutton-in-Ashfield born man for a long time.
“I drive a BMW already, 54 plate, diesel estate, it’s beautiful,” he laughed. “I’m not sure how I’m going to afford the fuel in the new one.”
Either way, not at all bad for a day’s work…
