The golfing community in South Yorkshire is once again bursting with pride after two of its leading amateurs qualified for the 150th Open last night.
FORMAT: 36-hole stroke play
Hallamshire’s Barclay Brown and Sam Bairstow (Hallowes) will be teeing it up alongside the best players in the world next month thanks to stand-out performances in Final Qualifying yesterday.
British Amateur Championship runner-up Bairstow had a particular reason to be proud of his efforts at St Annes Old Links. The 23-year-old also made it through from the Lancashire venue last year and became the first amateur to qualify in successive years since Ireland’s Paul Dunne achieved the feat at Woburn (2014 & 15).
The big-hitting left hander finished level with DP Tour winner Marcus Armitage on eight under and will travel to The Home of Golf with good memories. His worst score playing on The Old Course in the St Andrews Links is three under.
“It is amazing to have done it again,” said Bairstow, who will once have club-mate George Ash on the bag
“It certainly helped playing at St Annes and I had good memories of what happened there last year.
“It was also nice to play with Matty Jordan, who also qualified. He was five under after five holes in his second round and it became a real battle. It was also really nice to go up against that calibre of player.”
At Royal St George’s last year the World No 12 carded scores of 75 and 72 to miss the cut by five shots but he fully expects to improve on that this time around.
Bairstow added: “I was very nervous last year but this time I feel I have a chance of doing well.
“I like playing in front of big crowds and playing with support and I like The Old Course a lot.
“Once you know the lines off the tee, I feel it is the best links course in terms of the approach shots. It is really challenging because you have to be so precise and they can really trick the greens up.
“But I am also really pleased with how my pace putting in the wind has developed. In the last year and a half I have done a lot of work with my coach Steve Robinson and Nick Soto at England Golf and that will hopefully stand me in good stead.”
Bairstow’s formidable power also came to the fore at wind-swept St Annes yesterday where a second-round 67 put him in the top four alongside Armitage, Jordan and fellow Yorkshireman John Parry, who made it via a play-off.
Having just made bogey on 14 to drop back to six under in the second of his two rounds, Bairstow drove into the green-side bunker at the 364-yard par four 15th and holed out from 12 yards for a critical eagle.
In his morning round he started on tenth and took advantage of the down-wind holes (10, 11 and 12) to get to three under but dropped back to one under at the eighth before a stunning eagle at the fifth (his 14th) got him back into contention. His 420-yard drive was followed by a 155-yard 50 degree wedge to six feet and he made no mistake with the short stick.
At Hollinwell, Bairstow’s England team-mate Brown – the duo have both been named in the England Six for next month’s European Team Championship – demonstrated all his considerable short-game skills to great effect.
Rounds of 68 and 72 meant he finished three clear of the field and a very famous fellow Hallamshire member was one of the first to send their best wishes.
Brown told the R&A last night: “My putting saved me a bit today and it was nice to have a bit of a cushion going into this afternoon.
“An Open at St Andrews is something everyone wants to play in. I’m so excited to get up there. Matt Fitzpatrick texted me about half an hour ago to say congratulations, which was really nice of him.
“Watching him win the US Open was unbelievable and hopefully I can get in some practice rounds with him at St Andrews.”