Downfield professional Kenny Hutton admitted 'it was a dream come true' after booking an instant return to the grand final of Europe's largest pro-am.
Hutton and his amateur partner Bob Butter claimed their prize of an all expenses trip to Turkey's Sirene Beach & Hotel Resort and Antalya Golf Club via countback after tying with a seven-under-par 64 with Haggs Castle pro Campbell Elliott and his partner Ross McLeod at Crieff.
But a hat-trick of birdies four holes from home proved to be the clinching factor in the regional final of the PGA National Pro-Am Championship, which sees Hutton become the fourth of last year's finalists to return.
"It's a dream come true to go back because it was such a great trip last year," said the 44-year-old pro.
"I've been telling Bob all about and I'm just chuffed to have a second chance to go back and give it another go. When I saw there 72 teams competing at Crieff and 28 at Lanark next week, there was a moment when I thought about changing venue to give us better odds of getting through.
"But in the end you've just got to take a chance and hope you come through which we have. Last year, we got through by a shot but it was much closer this time and the scoring was much tighter given the conditions."
Haggs Castle posted the target early in the day, which Downfield matched but their back nine of four-under-par to their rivals brace proved the difference.
"I birdied 15 and 17 and Bob birdied 16 while he made par at the last to save a bogey, which is what got us in," said Hutton.
"I know Bob well and he played solid all day. He had a slight hiccup, which you expect from an 11 handicapper during 18 holes, but he remained strong throughout."
Butter's, a 47-year-old fire prevention officer with the Fire & Rescue Service in Dundee, revealed he felt a bit of pressure to get Hutton a return ticket after hearing how good last year's grand final had been.
"I feel fantastic as this is probably the biggest tournament I've ever won and probably the second best round I've played after qualifying to get here," said Butter's, who is the chairperson of the Scottish Fire & Rescue Golf Society.
"But after Kenny was telling me how good it was I felt that I had to play well to get him there again this year.
"I'd played Crieff before but that was about 20 years ago but as I went round some of the holes came back to me, which helped."
The winning pair will compete against 15 other regional finalists during the expenses paid five-day, five-star trip to the Sirene Beach & Hotel Resort on Turkey's Mediterranean Coast from November 30 to December 4.
The tournament, which attracts more than 100,000 entries, is now in its 24th staging and has been held in Portugal, Spain, Grand Bahamas and Sardinia prior to Turkey last year.