AN amateur golfer from Stratton Audley, near Bicester, is celebrating after securing an expenses-paid trip of a lifetime to the grand final of the 2016 Morocco Matchplay.

Martyn Smith, 62, a 16-handicapper who plays at Heythrop Park Resort, topped the leaderboard with 42 points at Woodbury Park, in Devon, in the southern regional final.

This secured him a seat on the plane for February’s grand final to be played in Marrakech.

He said: “I’m really, really pleased with that score, delighted.

“I’ve just put down a large sum of money on lessons with the pro, John Cook, at our club, and today was the first day that I noticed an improvement. So it’s starting to pay off.

“I’ve been entering these competitions for more than 20 years and it’s the first time I’ve done anything at all.

“I’m really chuffed. I could not have played any better on the back nine – two birdies!

“I scored 25 points on the back nine.

“All the chips went close, the putts went in – it couldn’t have gone any better.

“We were all really pulling for each other all the way round.”

Smith, who has a hole-in-one on a par-four on his golfing CV, added: “I think it was on the 16th hole when they realised I was in with a good chance, if I could just come in with another six points or something like that.

“And I came in with seven for the last three holes.”