The Professional Golfers' Association has taken steps to ensure the memory of the very first Scottish PGA champion continues to be honoured.
The gravestone of John Hunter, winner of the inaugural national championship at Panmure Barry in 1907, had been removed from Prestwick cemetery in 2011 after South Ayrshire Council deemed it unsafe. Through the initial efforts of local historian Alasdair Malcolm, and the subsequent assistance of the PGA, the headstone has been extensively restored and returned to its original place. Hunter was one of four sons of the celebrated Prestwick professional Charlie, who made up part of the eight-strong entry for the very first Open Championship which was held over the Ayrshire links in 1860.
Earlier this year, the burial site of Frenchman Arnaud Massy, who became the first non-Briton to win the Open when he captured the Claret Jug at Royal Liverpool in 1907, was discovered at Newington Cemetery in Edinburgh.
"I just thought it was a little sad that somebody who had been quite a force in Scottish golf in his time and an accomplished golfer should not be remembered in a more fitting way," said Malcolm. "What brought it to my mind was seeing an article about Arnaud Massy, whose grave was discovered in a neglected graveyard in Edinburgh when he had previously been thought to have been buried in France."
Sandy Jones, the chief executive of the PGA, added: "We were more than happy to honour the memory of one of the PGA's pioneering pros by restoring the stone work. John Hunter was part of a great Scottish tradition of PGA Professionals that helped shape golf around the world."
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