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A Scottish golfer gave himself the ultimate on-course birthday present by carding a round 16 shots below his age.

Playing at his home golf club of Dumfries & County Golf Club on November 30, Ernie Gibson went round in 73 on the day he turned 89 and, with a handicap of 23, it meant he had a nett score of 50!

“It was a good birthday present,” Ernie told bunkered.co.uk, before quickly backtracking, adding: “But not so good actually as it doesn’t give myself much chance of winning anymore competitions for the rest of the winter!”

Ernie, who was playing alongside his fellow ‘Gerries’ – short for geriatrics, as they jokingly call themselves – carded the round on the course’s winter set-up, which has a CSS of 66.

And he said the round, which he ranks as one of his best ever, came as much as a surprise to him as it did to his fellow players.

“I felt my usual self,” added Ernie, who has been a member at Dumfries & County since 1969. “Everything was ridiculous actually! I was just doing what I’d usually do but it was one of these daft days when everything just went in. I was even inches away from a hole-in-one on the sixth hole.

“My friends believed it but naturally, like myself, they were very surprised and unbelievably complimentary. I never thought I’d play one of my best rounds of my life on my 89th birthday, that’s for sure.”

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Following his round, Dumfries & County shared a picture of Ernie on their Facebook page (above) and, in being a former head teacher at a local primary school, his success prompted a wave of congratulatory messages from some of his former pupils.

“When the club put the picture on Facebook, I saw a lot of my former pupils had wrote nice messages and some even contacted me about it, too, so that was fantastic.

“I love my golf and it’s very important to me. I play for enjoyment, company, exercise and, if I have a good score, then it’s all the better.”

The record for the lowest golf score below age is 22. It was set earlier this year by John Powell of Chino Hills, California, in a PGA sanctioned event. The 86-year-old fired in a round of 64!

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