HARTLEY Wintney’s Charlie Preston believes he can play his way into next year’s Open Championship after being put through the wringer in his first crack at Open Qualifying last week.
The former junior member at the two clubs where Justin Rose played golf before securing a dream spot in the 1998 Open at Royal Birkdale as an amateur, believes his game can stand up to the unique test Final Qualifying presents having finished tied for 45th at Burnham & Berrow.
Rose qualified at the same Somerset course 27 years ago before his meteoric rise to the top of the game, as World No. 1, US Open winner, Olympic Champion, and a runner-up in both the Masters (twice) and The Open.
But Preston – who holed a birdie in a play-off at North Hants to make it through to Final Open Qualifying – revealed how he overcame a major rules dispute over his damaged driver during his second round.
The Hook golfer fired seven birdies in the morning to find himself four shots outside the top five after some crucial self-inflicted mistakes.
He also admitted looking at the scoreboard on the front nine when three back had affected his play as he started dreaming of achieving what Justin Rose had achieved as a 17-year-old only for his driver to fall apart on the sixth.
Charlie, who had his coach Kev Flynn on the bag, revealed: “I had a few problems with my Callaway driver when I won the club champs at Hartley Wintney a couple of days before playing Final Qualifying.
“Part of the head next to the adjuster was loose and they tried to fix it in the club shop. They taped up but it didn’t feel right. On the sixth tee, I just took a practice swing, not even three-quarter length when the head came loose.
“I had my old driver back in the car, so my dad went off to see if they could get the shaft reattached, or bring the old one out. We spoke to an R&A official nearby.”
Charlie Preston is confident he can qualify for next year’s Open as an amateur after his experience at Burnham & Berrow. Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN / AMG PICTURES
Charlie and his caddie were surprised when they were informed that phone calls were being made to the R&A’s HQ in St Andrews to check the rules about replacing a driver in such circumstances.
Preston revealed: “They kept coming over asking me questions about how it came to be damaged. If it was because I had thumped the club against something in frustration and knew about it, I could not replace it.
“Dad was gone for more than 40 minutes, probably longer. Eventually he brought out my old driver but I had played four or five more holes by then.”
That stretch around the turn included some of the longest and toughest holes on the links course. Last year’s Hampshire Junior Player of the Year was forced to hit one-iron off the tee as he didn’t have a three-wood in his bag.
Coming off back-to-back birdies, Preston made a double bogey on the sixth, and followed that with another dropped shot at the seventh.
Charlie added: “The par-five eighth has a 200-yard carry over a big ditch and it’s 230 to the fairway – I hit one-iron and made it with five yards to spare. I made a good five thanks to an up-and-down after going over the green.
“I had to birdie it really, and needed a driver for the 11th into the wind at 455 – I ended up two-putting from 80 feet for par before getting handed my old driver on the 12th.”
But Preston made his second double-bogey of the round – and fourth of the day – at the 13th, and dropped another shot at the 15th before getting it back to four-over with a birdie at the tough 16th.
A 76 after his level-par first round 71 left him 10 shots outside the qualifying mark with just five spots in next week’s 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush up for the grabs for the 72-strong field – but Charlie remained full of positives.
He added: “I played with James Ruth, an ex-England amateur international, and he shot 67 in the morning. Kev and I thought I could have matched that the way I played before lunch, making seven birdies of my own.
“I didn’t think my iron play was as sharp in the second round as it had been in Regional Qualifying at North Hants, and I was driving it very well at last month’s county championships when I got to the final.
“That experience of playing in front of 40-50 people helped at Burnham – we had nearly twice that number watching us and I really enjoyed that.
“The pressure was something I fed off – I might not have qualified for the Open as an 18-year-old amateur, but I think I can do it next year as a 19-year-old… definitely.
“The whole experience proved to me that my best golf is not miles away from the standard of these players. I think Kev and I learned a lot about the way I can play under pressure, which can only be a good thing.”
•FINAL OPEN QUALIFYING SCORES
Justin Rose topped the leaderboard for Open Qualifying at Burnham & Berrow last year to book his spot in the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon. Picture R&A
TWELVE months earlier Rose had returned to Burnham & Berrow determined to book his place in the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon.
Not only did he succeed shooting a total of eight-under par, but he would go on to finish runner-up in the hunt for that elusive Claret Jug.
Rose said about his venture back to Final Open Qualifying: “I had huge motivation. The Open has been a bit of a fairytale and a love story for me ever since I was 14 and got to Final Qualifying at Scotscraig.
“I had the amazing Royal Birkdale Silver Medal moment and The Open has always been super special. You can kind of take it for granted, you have nice spells in your career when you’re exempt for however many years but as you get older, it gets a little harder.
“It makes you appreciate how special The Open is – and it’s nice to come back to Burnham & Berrow, which is a special place to me.”
Rose’s first taste of the Somerset course came when he won the Carris Trophy in 1995 – the same year he featured in the aforementioned Final Qualifying at Scotscraig.
“I played the home internationals in ’97 too, so it’s my first time back since then,” Rose added. “I tried to have the feelgood factor, and tell myself I’ve had great experiences here.
“I was trying to be here full of gratitude. It was an opportunity to walk down memory lane,” said Rose, who had played in every Open Championship from 2007 until 2022, when a back injury kept him out of the 150th Open at St Andrews.