Amateur golfer produces '1 in 323 billion' run that even PGA Tour stars rarely achieve

British amateur golfer and former partner of Tommy Fleetwood, Allan Harrison, has hit a one-in-323-billion round after grabbing a pasty and a pint at the halfway house at Fairhaven Golf Club.

Harrison, 64, was once a foursome partner of Tommy Fleetwood at Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club, but never hit the same heights as the Ryder Cup icon.

However, his recent round of golf was just a few inches away from equalling a PGA Tour record, as he put on a back-nine run that would take another 322 billion tries to replicate.

After going through the first nine holes at four over par, the amateur golfer nipped in for some lunch and came out swinging a near-perfect game.

The extraordinary masterclass saw Harrison hit seven straight birdies (and eight overall across the nine holes), a run of form that has only been beaten twice this century.

According to England Golf, hitting eight out of nine birdies as an amateur golfer comes with the odds of one in 322 billion.

Even on the pro tour, England Golf claims this only happens in one every 455,000 rounds of golf. In fact, the PGA Tour birdie-average leader typically hits around 4.8 to 5.0 birdies in 18 holes (2.5 in nine), whereas Harrison hit eight.

Since 2000, only two players have hit better runs, with Americans Mark Calcavecchia and Kevin Chappell achieving a perfect run at the 2009 Canadian Open and the Greenbrier in 2019, respectively.

"I was four over after the front nine," Harrison said.

"I went into the halfway house, had a pasty and a drink, and the lads laughed when I said I'd start the back nine fresh."

But after hitting birdies on the tenth, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th, the group had become fully invested in this extraordinary run.

"I joked that I’d had seven in a row before, about 18 months ago at Southport & Ainsdale. They looked at me like: ‘Really?’”

"They were cheering me on, saying I had a chance at eight to break my own record."

The 16th was birdied too, but a 157-yard par-three on the 17th was the agonising miss that stopped the perfect run.

His seven-iron approach dropped a foot from the hole but ran six feet past the pin, which proved a difficult putt to sink and resulted in a par.

"My playing partner pointed out the pitch mark and said I must’ve nearly holed out. But it ran six feet past, and I misread the putt."

The part-time player and businessman went on to finish second in the event, hitting double bogeys on the last day of competing after being distracted by work emails.

"I was sending emails on the bench at 10, trying to get wages sorted. I double-bogeyed 10 and 11 because my mind was on work. My coach gave me a rollocking — saying I know I do better when I concentrate."

Harrison's career clearly went in a different direction from PGA Tour Championship winner Tommy Fleetwood, but that's a slice of history that nobody will be able to take away from him.