Chasing the St Andrews dream
Early morning ferries, racing for a tee-time, forgetting to file entry forms and playing with Sandy Lyle and The Bullet: One amateur's attempt to qualify for the 150th Open at St Andrews.
Playing with Sandy Lyle and Marcus “The Bullet” Armitage, racing from the ferry for the last tee-time, sharing an Airbnb with his friend-barber-caddie and forgetting to file the entry forms on time: The story of one amateur’s attempt to qualify for the 150th Open at St Andrews.
From top pros, to veteran former champions, to Tour grafters, to the estimated 1.3 million people who entered the lottery ballot hoping to get their hands on some of the most coveted tickets in all of golf, everybody wants to be at St Andrews this week.
That description extends too to the thousands of players, from wily old club pros to starry-eyed teenage amateurs, who started out in Regional qualifying last month in the hope of securing a place in the field for a very special 150th Open Championship at the Old Course in St Andrews, the home of golf, in the sporting event of the year.
Alex Maguire, 21, from just outside the little town of Bettystown on the east coast of Ireland, 45 minutes by train from Dublin city centre, was one of those hopefuls.
Maguire is three years into a five-year degree at Florida Atlantic University, having been given a scholarship to play there after impressing one of the coaches during the British Boys championship at Portrush and Portstewart in Northern Ireland four years ago.
Given the chance of year-round fairweather, exceptional practice facilities and ultra-competitive college golf in the US, his game has blossomed, and he’s started to win: four amateur tournaments in a little over a year, including the prestigious North of Ireland and East of Ireland Championships (former winners of those tournaments include Darren Clarke and Shane Lowry) and the Bayou City Collegiate Classic in Houston, Texas, where he recovered from a double-bogey at the last to win in a play-off.
On Tuesday, June 28th, Maguire was one of 72 players to tee it up at St Anne’s Old Links (the slightly lesser-known sister course of established Open rota course Royal Lytham and St Anne’s) in search of four Open places on offer.
But there were a few hoops to jump through for him even to get there — starting with a paperwork oversight that almost killed the dream before it started.
“My sister's boyfriend texted me with a screenshot of the draw for Regional qualifying [which took place at County Louth Golf Club in Baltray, a dozen miles or so from his Bettystown home, on June 20th]. One of the guys he knew was playing it. He says to me, ‘Where's your name?’ and I was like ‘Bollocks! I’ve actually missed it!’
“I was over in the States and you should really do it all one day and enter everything. The Open qualifying isn't on the GUI [Golf Union of Ireland] schedule so it’s up to you to make sure you keep an eye on it. You’ve got to go to all these different websites, see what you can play in, and make the entries.
“I missed it. I didn't put it down in my book. I’ve ticked all the other ones off. I was in my room in college, on the website ready to pay for it, then my room-mate called me, we had to go to [a] qualifying [tournament] … and I just never opened that page again.”
Fortunately, Regional qualifying wasn’t his last chance.
Soon after that oversight, he took part in the British Amateur Championships at Royal Lytham and St Anne’s and St Anne’s Old Links, where he won a series of tight matches to reach the last four — one-hole wins over Frenchman Martin Couvra and Jamie Roberts of Scotland, and 2&1 victories over Australian Max Charles and fellow Irishman Mark Power.
In the semis, he made it to the 17th before bowing out 3&1 to eventual winner, 17-year-old South African sensation Aldrich Potgieter.
While that defeat was disappointing, it did come with one big consolation: reaching the last four gave him exemption into Final qualifying for The Open — and redemption from forgetting to complete that entry form for Baltray.
Having that recent experience of St Annes in the British Amateur, he put that forward as his preference of the four course options for Final qualifying, and when the draw came out he could hardly believe what he was seeing.
Of the 288 players to start the four Final qualifying tournaments, perhaps the two biggest names were European Tour winner Marcus “The Bullet” Armitage and veteran Scot and two-time Major winner Sandy Lyle, who won The Open at Royal St George’s in 1985. (Lyle had lost his former winner Open exemption after turning 60 in 2018, but was still battling to get back to St Andrews for a 44th Open appearance, 48 years after his first.)
But before we get to how Final qualifying went, how did Alex feel when he saw that his threesome included both the big names?
“I saw the draw when I was standing in the Chinese takeaway in Bettystown,” he says. “I looked at it and I was like, ‘There's no way that’s true!’
“Andy Sullivan and Lee Slattery and George Coetzee were all playing in Final qualifying but you still looked at the list of names and Marcus Armitage and Sandy Lyle were probably the two biggest names there.
“When I found out I was buzzing. That's exactly why Jack decided to come over with me, because he knew I was playing with those guys.”
Jack is Jack McDonald, his friend, caddie and an enterprising businessman in his own right: he runs 9th Avenue Barbershop in Santry in Dublin.
“He wasn't supposed to come but when he found out who I was playing with, he was like, ‘Right, I'm coming over with you!’ He owns his barber business and sometimes he can take a day or two off and leave the shop with the guy who works for him. I was lucky to have him with me.”
Before Final qualifying started, there was the small matter of getting in a practice round on the Monday afternoon … and just like the rollercoaster of getting a place in Final qualifying, that wasn’t the smoothest of experiences, either.
“I would have liked to get over there a couple of days before but I had Barton Shield commitments at the weekend so I had to travel over on the Monday. Jack and I got the 8.05 ferry on the Monday morning which arrived in Holyhead around 11.30. Then we had to bomb it down to Lytham because the last tee time was at 2.30pm.
“We got there at about 2.28pm. It was stressful enough, we weren’t able to stop to go to the bathroom or get some food because I knew that if I didn’t get there in time for 2.30pm I'd only have been able to walk around. The R&A have to be very consistent for everyone for all the venues. 2.30 was the last tee-time for practice rounds, so I just had to make sure I got there on time. We did, just about.”
While resting up in an Airbnb on the Tuesday night, did the practice round do much to help the game-plan for Tuesday?
“I’d played St Anne’s about 10 days before in the British Am so it wasn’t like I was learning a whole new course. It had got a bit firmer, the greens were a little bit faster, so there was probably even more importance on hitting fairways, but I knew that anyway. In the second round of the British Am I hit a lot more fairways than I did the first day, and went round in 3-under. So the plan was, hit a lot of fairways, and you should get a lot of chances.
“The big difference with British Am and Open qualifying was the format. At British Am, you play 36 holes and the top 64 go into match-play. Obviously you want to be a leading medallist in stroke-play but if you’re not in that position, and you’re in the top 64, it’s more about coaxing your way around, making sure you stay there and don’t do anything too disruptive. You might hit a 2-iron off the tee, whatever.
“At Open qualifying, though, 72 players, only four places available, it’s much more of a sprint. If you're 5-under with four to play, and you know you might need to get to 8-under to be in with a chance of qualifying, you know you have to make birdies.
“That's a mindset difference. So I went out there firing at everything. I was trying not to do anything stupid, trying to be sensible with my decisions, but yeah, making sure you’re going for everything you can.”
After the practice round it was back to the Airbnb for a rest then up early the next morning for an 8.20am start from the 10th tee alongside Sandy and The Bullet as the race for a place at St Andrews got underway.
“All of the crowds around the golf club came over to the 10th to watch our group tee off. Obviously they were there for the other two lads, they didn’t care too much about me but I wasn't too hurt by that!
“It was nice. Fortunately for me the last three tournaments I’ve played, all of them had a nice crowd — the East [of Ireland Championship], then the British Am and the British Open Qualifying. I'm not sure how I'm gonna go back to playing in front of no crowds to be honest!”
So were Sandy and Marcus in the zone, or was there room for a chat down the fairways?
“Sandy was quite reserved, he kept to himself walking up the fairways. I don't know if that's how he always is, but I didn't get chatting to him too much. I would have liked to but I'm not going to try to push a guy to chat. If he doesn't want to, that's fine.
“But I did get to chat to Marcus a lot. He’s 34 but he does not seem like a 34-year-old. He seems like a 22-year-old, hanging around, he’s an absolute legend. He was a really, really nice guy to play with, to sort of bounce off.
“Some guys might be a little bit more hostile when you’re competing but Marcus was very obliging. He knew that it was a new experience for me. In the second round when Sandy had withdrawn after a few holes and it was just me and Marcus, he was very helpful with advice, telling me about qualifying schools, arrangements, hotels, how to book things, who to book them through.
“All the logistical stuff that hopefully if I turn pro, you'd sort of like to know before it's thrown on you in your first year. So yeah, he was a great guy to listen to and learn from.”
An even par first round left Alex seven shots off the lead, three behind a six-way tie for the magical fourth place, but even at that point he wasn’t so optimistic about his chances of making it to St Andrews.
“After the morning my caddie and my sister and her boyfriend were egging me on, saying 5-under might do it, but I knew the calibre of players out there. Guys like Marcus, like Sam Bairstow who got to the final of the British Am, I knew these guys weren't going to shoot 1-over.
“So there were a lot of players ahead of me and unless I went crazy in the afternoon I knew by that stage I was mostly out of it. But it was very hard to go crazy, it just wasn't set up for that. I had a fair idea I had to shoot maybe 64 or 65 but every hole I didn't birdie, I knew I was losing ground.
“You have to have the mindset ready for the second round, you don’t want to be deflated, but I knew I wasn't really on track after the morning and that my chances were mostly gone.”
Conditions made things even more difficult to go low. While the forecast for St Andrews this week is for calm and clear days, the elements were blowing on St Annes Old Links for Final qualifying.
“It was incredibly windy. There were two par 5s to finish and they were straight into the wind. A par was sort of a birdie on those holes.
“The wind suited the course as it was straight down the holes. There’s only three par 3s that go sideways so they were quite tough, but the downwind holes were really downwind, 430 yards became almost driver-putter, you were able to get very close.
“But going the other way, a 420-yard par 4 would be driver-4-iron. So you needed to make birdie on the downwind holes and then just survive the ones into the wind.
“There was one par 5 into the wind, it was something like 620 tee to green and they had the flag all the way at the back so it was playing like 650 yards. In the first round I hit driver, 2-iron, 5-iron, short. In the second round I hit driver, hooked it left, I don’t think I reached the fairway. Hacked a 7-iron up there, then a 2-iron about 220 to the front of the green.
“It played quite fairly but some of the holes were an absolute struggle. It was one of those courses where you were just happy to get off it at the end and be finished.”
In the end, a second round 76 left him in T37, ten shots off the number, and while that looks clear-cut, even with nine holes to go he was still in there fighting.
“I made a great birdie at the 9th to get back to even [par]. I knew then I needed to go 4-under on the back 9 and see where it got me. At 10 I hit a really good drive but it kicked right into this absolute Jumanji. I made par there but you needed birdie.
“The wind was gusting and I just started missing these short putts. I'd read it and feel like I’d hit a decent putt, but the wind would hit it and move it off line and it doesn't go in. If the slope breaks to the right, and the wind is 40 miles an hour off the right, the ball is going to move back up the slope.
“But you can't really trust it. So you play left edge and it stays left. The only thing you could do there was just not leave yourself those putts, but I kept leaving myself 5-footers. I had 5-footers on 11, 12, 13, 15, 16. And I missed every single one of them.”
So, the dream of taking part in the 150th Open at St Andrews now over, thoughts turn to the rest of the year and beyond. He returns to the States in September for another year of grinding on the collegiate circuit. Looking long term, he has big goals, but knows he has to hit a lot of milestones to get there.
“Turning pro is pretty much my dream and has been since I was a kid. I didn't know if I was gonna be able to do it or not, but every year it’s getting closer and closer to the possibility of it happening. I've always been told that if you can consistently win as an amateur, you have a chance of going pro.
“In Ireland, you can think you're great, but then you go to Europe or the States and you realise you're like a tiny fish in a huge pond. Having played in the States, I have a good dose of realism. I'll never get ahead of myself because I know how good people around the rest of the world are.
“I think I'm a good golfer, but I'm also the 250th best [amateur] in the world. There's 249 guys ahead of me. But I was always told by ex-pros or touring pros that if I could win consistently around Ireland, I have a chance to turn pro. Not have a chance of dominating professional golf, just that you have a chance at turning pro.
“I know a lot of guys before me have tried to do it and it hasn't gone their way. So I know how hard it is. I’ve won four events in the last 13 months, three here, two of the [amateur] Majors, and an event in the States.
“So the more I find myself in that position of winning, the more comfortable I feel. I felt very comfortable at the East [of Ireland] this year. But I probably wouldn't have felt that comfortable if I'd hadn't had the experience in Portumna or in Portrush or in Texas when I won.
“All these times of being in contention will stand to me going forward when I get into that position. But I know how difficult it can be. I know Jack Hume, Paul Dunne is an incredible golfer but sometimes it doesn't go for you. I met Chris Selfridge, had a brief interaction with him one time in Portugal, I think he won four [amateur] championships in two years, he won the East back to back and the Close back to back. And he had one wrist injury, and now he's caddying for Tom McKibbin.
“So it's very easy to take things for granted and think everything's going in the right direction, but one small setback can stop you from becoming what you want to be.
“The dream is to turn pro, to win a Major, to be world number 1, all that stuff. And that is my dream. But I've got a decent head on my shoulders, and I know it’s a long way away. And there's a lot of small milestones I have to tick off before then.”
Overall, the chance to play at St Andrews cost a little over €1100 — €500 for the ferry from Dublin, €212 for the Airbnb, €200 for fuel (“I don’t drive the most fuel-efficient car, it’s my dad’s old Range Rover and it guzzles up diesel”), the €150 entry fee and about €80 for food along the way.
It was, he says, a small investment to chase a big dream. The amateur life on the hunt for a pro career comes with not insignificant costs, but with help from his parents — dad Sean is a businessman — and the odd day away from the course to work with his uncle, he’s able to foot the bill and keep the dream alive.
“My uncle works with concrete and sometimes when I’m home, he might need a hand with a shed or a house extension he's doing and I’ll help him out for a few quid if I can. Every now and then, when I'm on a building site laying concrete or shovelling sand, all I'm thinking about is how I'd much rather be on the range right now hitting balls.”
Whether it’s in the middle of the fairway, in Jumanji-like rough or on freshly poured concrete, Alex Maguire has his feet firmly on the ground. At the same time, though, he’s reaching for the stars.
Onwards and hopefully upwards, one drive at a time.