Lothians golfer Neil Henderson joins '˜The 59 Club'

Henderson shot his low score at Renaissance Club

The PGA EuroPro Tour player achieved the feat at his home club, the Renaissance Club, in its season-opening event.

“It was a great feeling and something I have always wanted to do,” said Henderson of signing for a brilliant 12-under-par round on the Tom Doak-designed course.

“It was even more special to have done it playing with my fiancée, Alyssa, and my parents as it was also a fun team competition.”

The former Scottish Junior Champion of Champions winner sparked his effort by holing a 15-foot eagle putt at his opening hole, the third.

He then birdied the fourth, seventh, eighth and ninth and admitted: “This was when the thought of 59 first entered my head.”

That became a real possibility when he then holed a 20-footer for a 2 at the 11th, hit an 8 iron into the 12th to 10 feet then made a regulation birdie at the par-5 13th to get to nine-under after 11.

His second eagle of the round came at the par-5 16th, where an 18-foot putt dropped, and it was mission accomplished when he birdied the first, his 17th, from six feet.

“It was a perfect day and, while it wasn’t right off the back tees, it was still tricky enough with all the slopes around the greens,” added Henderson.

“It wasn’t a big competition, but it has given me a huge amount of confidence for the season ahead and backs up my thinking that I have been playing really well since winning two events in Florida in January.

“My new Accra driver shaft fitted by Fit For Purpose Golf into my Ping g400 has made a big difference as I am hitting less clubs into greens, and working in the gym at Diamond Gym has made me feel stronger and just better in general, so bring on the rest of the 2018 season.”