Jamie McLeary turned a nightmare season into a dream as he battled through another crisis to win a place in his debut Open Championship.
The 33-year-old former Leven Golfing Society player shot a course record 63 at Glasgow Gailes in the first round of the new final qualifying events, where just three places were available in the Open at Hoylake in 17 days.
Although that gave him a five-shot lead after the first round, he had to hang on as it all seemed to be falling apart.
Happily, McLeary steadied himself and the ship to eventually coast in, with fellow Scot Marc Warren shooting a 64 in the afternoon to pip him to leading qualifier.
The pair were later joined after a play-off by countryman Paul McKechnie, who’ll also be making his Open debut.
It’ll be a second Open in succession for Warren, and signs are that his best form may be returning, but it was McLeary who set the early pace.
After his searing back nine in the morning, four birdies and an eagle bringing him back in 30, it seemed the Fifer just needed to nudge it round in the afternoon, but with Gailes’ famous heather and a stronger wind that proved less than easy.
“I was getting a bit worried after the way I started my second round with three bogeys in the first three holes, I just missed the fairway on each occasion and couldn’t get it more than 50 yards,” he said.
A bit of luck at the 14th, when he thought he was plugged in a bunker but instead found an upslope, was the tipping point back to Hoylake, and he birdied 15 and 16 as well, eventually finishing with a 71.
It’s been a discouraging season for McLeary, who won his European Tour card last year but has laboured to just £18,000 in winnings and missed the last eight cuts.
“I’ve been struggling with my golf all year,” he admitted.
“Since getting my main Tour card I’ve been hitting it left, left, left all the time. I did the same thing in my second round at the first, third and fourth.
“I wasn’t really thinking about what happened last year, even though I should have qualified then.
“Even though I came back to the field a bit in the second round, I still felt I could shoot around level-par, which would get the job done.”
He’s tried “loads of times” to qualify and this fulfils two of his dreams.
“The Open is the biggest tournament in the world. It now means that in the last six or seven months I’ve done two of the things I most wanted to do as a golfer playing in the Open and getting on to the European Tour.”
Warren finished with a flourish, holing out a 20-yard bunker shot at the last, which was enough to get him through to Hoylake as best qualifier, a year after his Open debut at Muirfield.
“Muirfield was a great experience, although I went for it on the final hole on Monday thinking I needed a birdie and it turned out a par would have comfortably got me inside the cut,” he said.
“You want good memories from these tournaments, so this is an immediate chance to set the record straight.”
Warren got a release from the French Open pro-am to play and is headed for Paris this morning re-energised after a modest season.
“This is just the confidence I need, on a course I know well because I play a lot down here,” he continued.
“Paris will be firm and fast just like this, and it’s good preparation to kick on now.”
McKechnie looked to be out of it covering the first nine holes of his first round in 40, but was seven-under the rest of the way, narrowly missing a birdie putt on the last.
It meant the 37-year-old Braid Hills pro had an extra hole to play against Wales’ Rhys Davies for the third qualifying spot, but holed an eight-foot putt for birdie on the first to book his precious place.
“It’s a childhood dream, and I’ve just over the moon,” he said.
“It was a nice way to finish off, executing really well, and I’ll be changing my plans for a fortnight.”