Newcastle United fan meets hero Alan Shearer after winning hole-in-one competition

A Newcastle United fan from Wraysbury got to meet his hero, Alan Shearer, after shooting his first ever hole-in-one and securing a trip to the USA to watch the Ryder Cup or Masters in the process. 

Paul McIntyre, a 65-year-old exiled Geordie living in Wraysbury, aced the 150m 13th hole of the Pestana Vila Sol course in Portugal while competing in the Million Dollar Hole in One (MDHIO) challenge.

Having never even seen someone do it before he was surprised to say the least, and will now fly out to the USA for either the 2020 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin or the 2021 Masters at the Augusta National in Georgia. There he'll tee off for the chance to win a one million dollar jackpot.

If winning the trip and the chance to win a life-changing amount of money wasn't enough, he also met Shearer, an MDHIO ambassador, who was out in Portugal at the same time.

McIntyre, who runs a property maintenance company and plays off a handicap of 22, said: "As I was using a driver, I only tapped it with a half-swing; it landed well and my mates and the girls on the tee started to get excited.

"As we drove to the green and the buggy got closer, we couldn’t see the ball and someone said ‘it must be a hole-in-one’. We couldn’t believe it; we were all jumping around like kids – an unbelievable feeling.

“I’m still over the moon and it hasn’t really sunk in. The fact that we got to meet Alan Shearer topped it all off, it’s always been a dream of mine to meet him and he said he will never forget the guy who hit a par-three hole-in-one with a driver!

“I haven’t even had chance to think about the trip to America yet, as I’m still so happy about the rest of it, but obviously it’s a fantastic opportunity and wouldn’t it be nice if I can repeat the feat and win the jackpot?” 

Visit www.mdhio.net/golf-courses to discover where MDHIO courses can be played.