I hold this forefoot to come back and just the relief was just amazing. So turn up final stage and the funny thing was the night before final stage my employer now dan webster i was actually out it was lovely love that lovely lovely weather. And we were in lithu me. And my wife and one of my wife's friends we're actually in a place called barik and do lovely wine i'm having a glass of red eating cheese. And dan webster's walking past and he goes what are you doing you're playing open qualifying in the morning just to people who don't know he's also the head professional at scent. And old links yes who now he's well i work with that because he also owns rhythm golf academy where i used to work. And so does james now yeah. So he's going what are you doing you've got open qualifying in the morning i'm like yeah i'll be fine just gonna have a couple more glasses. And a bit more cheese and then.
We'll get on the tee because in theory that's what you did. For regional qualifying yeah. So you just weren't changing anything it wasn't changing a thing nothing changed it was very relaxed bit of alcohol involved obviously not daft were you nervous no not one bit honestly not one bit. And probably not as nervous about shooting a bad round round there no because again you have no expectations at all. And this is what we need to touch on as well like in life i was. So happy i was like i was nine months into my new career like teaching. And working like at clarks starting my pga but things started to happen like i proposed to my girlfriend at the time and she was now my fiance. And i was starting to like contribute towards my bills. And paying the house great like my life became better what what you what you envisioned yeah you know hanging up your glove. And your golf shoes exactly at the end of 2017. yeah. So inside i was very very happy. And i was planning a wedding. And things like that and i just had no worries whatsoever absolutely no worries. And then.
I had no expectations either really no financial worries as well as you mentioned in the in the first podcast with the credit card bills. And racking up like 30 odd grand bills and paying for 4 000 pounds every week and paying a caddy and all this that wasn't there either was it my life became much simpler like it was just i go to work i earn money i pay my bills done what i always liked about coach. And i remember this very vividly as well and you probably started to see this um i remember coaching a full day diary and you know earning good money thinking you know i've i've taught 12 hours there i've really enjoyed it i've helped loads of students get better at golf at the end of it i've earned decent dough yeah. And i remember uh probably a mutual friend of ours i won't mention his name but he put on facebook that he'd shot like a 66 or a 65 around a you know mini tour event or so and an x amount and it wasn't as much as i did a day coaching. And i hadn't had to hit a golf ball yeah. And you think it's. For him to go out and shoot at 66 or a 65 to win that much and he was boasting about it again it goes back to that idea that the tour professional golf. Or professional golf is. So money orientated that you do often get quite lost in in that kind of um in that world really i think with that though i think certainly with football we're all aware of the premier league the championship league one league two. And it goes down into obviously different leagues even lower than that so people would know that kind of you might be professional football about playing for southport you're not gonna be earn as much as ronaldo or whatever juventus whatever it might be but with golf a lot of people even quite hardcore golfers don't really understand all the different tools and and how the money obviously doesn't necessarily drip down and like you said before it it's not always as simple as a one a pro event all right you're a millionaire then.
You're having 400 quid. Or something exactly even less sometimes where you're now coaching 10 hours yep every day and seeing the benefits and you've not had to get stressed and you've got to get worried and you're not thinking about overheads or you caddy or travel or being away from your family and your fiance so like you were in just a ridiculously better place in your life definitely just enjoying what i was doing obviously i enjoyed playing golf. But through the bad times it was it was hard of course just a quick question this might be a really silly question. So i just thought of it then.
Obviously with you going to clark's really busy facility. And you're the guy that playing the european tour i mean that that is some validation of you as a player. And i imagine that you got a lot of clients off the back of that firstly did you. And secondly did you ever get anybody who was almost worried to have lessons off you because they felt they were. So bad at golf and you were clearly. So good that they might feel inferior or embarrassed or reluctant did that ever come up. Or not definitely had a few comments like that like people say no i didn't know if you were too good to teach me yeah. But it's just misinterpreting yeah isn't it basically when they're reading the description about me because i i did have that side of my name ex-european tour player. And something it might have put some people off but at the end of the day i'm still a knowledgeable coach willing to teach people you'd imagine you get more people than you're going to lose off the back of that obviously you want to get coached by someone that's been there. And done it as well yeah a lot of people did come to me. For that and the first thing they'd say in the lesson oh you used to be on tour didn't you have you got any stories and you think that you feel like you're eating their time when you think come on let's try. And sort that slice well some people are getting a bit confused going where's your ferrari outside. And where's yeah like were people a bit like hold on i thought you're a tour player like because again they have that perception of the gold european tour card we spoke about before sometimes definitely yeah they used to it's it's. So top-heavy like you like we were saying before it's about the gold at the top. But um people often thought like well often said to me like why are you not playing anymore. And you say oh how many hours have you got yeah exactly like this is only an hour lesson. And we're already two hours into a podcast so exactly right so fast forward first first to ho or not first of all we won't go shop by shop but final qualifying first round what do you post uh good question i feel like i might even have it on my phone i tried to get it up then.
I couldn't find it very easily six under five under five under no i've not got it it was five under definitely was that leading to take it there no no no i was too behind seven under was leading what did you think when you shot at five under was again was the heart started to race did you change your mentality did you go out. For wine and cheese again or did you stay up did you stay home no no no no no same day um she had no time to think i had no time to think that's probably a good thing won't it yeah because possibly if you had time to think you might have changed well i remember dave clark was there. And i saw him and he was like have you got on i said five under. And he was like oh that's all right kind of thing. And and then.
Um i just had my sandwich and sat on my own took my shoes off because it's such a sunny day and then.
Back on the tee sometimes you don't have time do you it's really quick turn around. But 36 yeah. But it was there was no nerves still no expectations really. But my mindset was i'm too behind like i need to keep pressing on because there was a there was a seven under him. So and was it marcus armitage it was armitage. And jack senior with the other graduates that yeah. So um which we're all friends so it's weird um but i stood on the tenth day in the second round and it's a par four isn't it yeah dead shot three ten three two twenty something because you've gotta get over. But yeah. And i remember just in the first round i'd hit driver straight into the middle of the green in second round just hit driver straight into the middle of the green so it was just a really easy birdie to get going. And then.
Actually drove this is how bouncy it was i drove the 11th as well. So i drove 10 drove 11. and before you know it i'm seven under and i'm on on the tail of everybody and then.
We got round to the 18th hole which is the par five half five. And i've hit three iron off the tee is it five fifty something like that it's about five fifty a bit three iron off the t. And i've got 274 yards to the flag and i've hit four iron and one of my friends uh henry pond stood on you know the hill near the car park yeah he stood on the hill. And i've hit this foreign and i've said to my dad like that is perfect like it just felt good. But it all depended on how much it bounces yeah whether it bounced straight. And henry gives thumbs up and then.
He gives another thumb up and then.
He shows like a 12 inch ruler basically with his hands and i'm thinking oh my god it can't be that close get up there and it's stiff so i tap that in and at the time hmm what would have been i would have been 11 under through 27 olson so i was leading you're pretty good at golf aren't you not bad. So far with two hours in and that's something i've realized you're pretty good so you're 11 under through 27 holes yep leading you know i felt like i was tied first at this point it might have been leading by one stood on the first. And the flag was front right. And it was very easily drivable. So some people just missing that um your second round you started on started on the tent yeah. So now i'm on the first so it's my 28th hole and i've hit driver and i've missed the green just short right and you can drive that first hole yeah quite easily. And missed that green just short right so short-sided and in my head it was like it's like a long par three like you should be making another three there. And i made par but then.
Battled round and carried on and bogeyed one two the fourth i hid it in the in the trap on the left off the tee and made bogey stroke one though on that on that course yeah um. And then.
Part the the par five next.
Which was good par at the time. But then.
Birdied the other par five coming back the other way yeah. And at this point i knew i was leading no tied first sorry. And then.
Seventh and this massive crowd walking around with me how big would you say the crowd well this is family friends randoms as well yeah. But members of the golf club oh yeah just local people just knowing i was doing well. And i'd say probably 70 80 people wow and i stood on the seventh and i've absolutely ripped driver up the middle pitched it in made another birdie so then.
I knew i was leading by one at this point are you nervous no how just because i was hitting it. So well like hey that's just what i've not never experienced there's no no nerves when it's on a rope that is good that though. But then.
I remember do you almost very quickly when you've got like a big crab line you're playing well do you almost show off it was it was like yeah i'm going to show you all my skills see i've i'd love to get to that point. But i was just not that if it will. But as in like i can imagine when i've heard people say that like rory's talked about it when he when he shot the course record at royal um port rush we had loads of local people. And he was like i'm just going to show off. And he shot like 10 under or whatever stupid sounds like it's kind of quite familiar to you there where you're like yeah all right i'm just going to keep going making birdies here yeah well my dad was like getting. So panicky at this time and is he nervous he was really nervous. But he'd put a big bet on me so he was really nervous you're allowed to do that yeah you can yeah what what what odds were you to get us to get through um i can't actually remember i think it was like mid 50s all right really made a few quid i'm guessing that yeah well he he won more than i won. For winning it that's classic yeah that's it. And we're on now the eighth hole which was my 17th. And i've hit four iron off the tee and then.
I've hit wedge to like three feet and then.
Dan webster actually turns up with his camera at the back of the green starts filming me and i've just fallen asleep over this three footer but all i'm thinking is i'm gonna get in the open i'm going to get in the open like walking oh god i hadn't even i almost forgot that's what you're doing yeah i forgot. And when did you actually even start think when did you when did you start thinking that that was a possibility my 16th hole when i'm not that put in wow the 15th the birdied well my 15th hole. But that was the par five the par five i birdied that. And then.
I knew it was tied first because there was a leaderboard at the side of the green. And then.
I birdied the next.
So i knew i was leading. And there's three people get in three people but i was tied on that par five i was tied with three people. So i was thinking god all like just one of us get out of that park. And i might not gain if you get what i mean. And you might like it'd be lovely if all three of you were like miles ahead of everyone else like was it really compact it was close there was people like nine under as well. So uh and then.
Yeah dan webster turns up with his camera on on my 17th the eighth hole yeah i've just fallen asleep over this three-footer. And missed it so there's footage of that somewhere yeah. So i should have gone to eight under for the round which would have taken me to 13 under and then.
Ninth hole beautiful path beautiful par three i've hit eight iron remember hitting it fairly decent bounce at the front rolled up to about 15 feet and then.
I just had a moment to myself on that green just thinking i've done it all i've got to do is just to put from here describe that better like come on really really go back in time. And describe what the hell did it feel like that you real you're gonna play in the frigging open well remember you if you've played that course you'll remember that the ninth hole is like a bold amazing such beautiful path. And i'm down there on my own and i remember just lining my putt-up and took my hat off and i remember just like running my fingers through my hair just trying to have a moment hoping there was a photographer there to put you on the front cover of the newspaper try. And get a modeling contract but um i remember standing it was like kneeling down lining my putt up. And i was just looking up at like it's like a stadium isn't it like everyone like an amphitheater yeah everyone was like high up around me. And i just thought wow like we're gonna do this in a minute. And then.
I got over the put and i hid it quite firm going. For it because i was holding ports. And everything everything was going my way basically i was playing well. And i rammed it probably four feet past and then.
I was kind of panicking thinking i didn't actually look where what second is like are we one ahead are we two ahead. But in the end it was actually two ahead. And i knocked it in anyway and one but were you nervous over that pot were you like oh yeah i was thinking god what i could make me look. So then.
Did you actually think of a negative because everything up until build up that sounded like super positive there was a negative it was like is it like an undertone yeah it was more of a just focus hard on this don't fall asleep like the last put you just did like you shouldn't be ramming a 15 footer down a hill when all you need to do is just nudge nudge it whole side tap it in. For a nice easy win but i hold this forefoot to coming back and just the relief was just amazing in the open. And then.
What happens after there's like a circus once after that like what the hell happened.
