Some people are able to achieve it and have it in their sights when going into the new year. It doesn’t come easily. It takes a lot of practice, patience and skill. Alongside that, you have thousands of other golfers battling to qualify to play the prestigious event.
For my friend and coach Ashton Turner, this is very achievable with two previous attendances playing in The Open before he went to war again to play in it for his third time. Earlier in the year, Ash had an operation on his wrist, so he didn’t think he would even be in the position to be going for it this year. Thankfully, his wrist healed well and testing it out with some rather abusive shots at his home course, Kenwick Park Golf Club, it was proving to be solid.
Ash secured his spot in the final qualifying after being one of seven people to qualify from the Fulford regional qualifier. As I had never been to a golf event before, I booked the day off and travelled up to West Lancashire Golf Club to watch him compete for his position. There were 5 spots available on the day, and with favourable weather, we all knew it was going to take a good score to secure a place.
There were some fantastic shots made by Ash, including an amazing albatross hole out on one of the Par 5 holes. I mean, why take 5 shots when you can take two, an amazing drive and then a smooth little 9 iron to place it into the bottom of the cup. As well as he played unfortunately this year, he could not quite get his hands on one of the places. All in all, though I don’t think you can knock it considering the beginning of the year operation.
Here’s to seeing what he does next year.
As usual thank you to those who have taken the time to read and view this post. If you want to keep an eye on the events that Ashton does you can find his instagram at @ashtonturner96. You can also see other images and bits from the day on my instagram and if you want to do some work together feel free to drop me a line there or drop me an email.
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