Dreams realised

The five qualifiers for The 154th Open from Burnham & Berrow could hardly have had more contrasting journeys but all are now looking forward to their debuts at golf’s original championship.

Three came from the USA, one from Barcelona, and one from 20 miles down the M5 in Taunton.

But what linked James Nicholas, Caleb Surratt, Austen Truslow, Alejandro de Castro Piera and Tom Sloman was an ability to conquer the elements over two rounds played in conditions which typified the old adage about all four seasons in a day – or sometimes even over the course of one hole.

The morning brought glorious sunshine but the wind picked up as the day went on before heavy showers brought a fresh late afternoon challenge.

Nicholas stood tall through it all and finished top of the leaderboard on 10-under-par, pairing a 65 with a 67.

The American, who has a TikTok following of almost 400,000 and had his every move documented over the course of the day, played in his second US Open this year and is relishing his first taste of The Open.

“I love links golf," said Nicholas, who played in The Amateur Championship at Royal Aberdeen in 2018. "It is the purest test of golf, it is almost like a religious experience.

“It was a battle out there. I got off to a really good start, then the wind flipped 180 degrees. At the 3rd, we had cold, then hot, then wind, rain and hail – all in one hole.

“The Open is the ultimate test. I have never experienced it or watched it live on-site. To be able to test my game against the best in the world is really exciting.”

Nicholas – whose grandfather was a long-time orthopaedic surgeon for the New York Jets, credited with prolonging the career of Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath – finished a shot clear of compatriot Surratt.

The 22-year-old arrived fresh from his first career major at the US Open and flew out the traps, racing to the turn in 30 after an eagle and four birdies on the front nine of his opening round.

Two bogeys followed after the turn but a four-under-par 67 left him well-placed and a bogey-free five-under round in the afternoon sealed his spot.

“I’m pumped,” he said. “To be there [at the US Open] on the weekend gave me the taste of wanting to be back so bad, so I had that in my mouth coming into this event and battled hard all day.

“The Open means a lot. It is always one I’ve always enjoyed waking up at 4am and watching, so to have my name on the leaderboard will be special.”

Surratt was part of the same playing group as Sloman, who is rather more familiar with the changeable conditions on the Somerset coast. Sloman has been a Burnham & Berrow member "ever since I learned to drive" and shot up the leaderboard with an afternoon 65, the best second-round score on the day, to climb to eight-under-par.

He was backed by a large contingent of family and friends and will now have the opportunity to add to his Open memories.

“I watched Dave Dixon play with Vijay Singh at Royal Lytham & St Annes when I was about five years old,” he said.

“My dad used to help Dave out a little bit and he got into that Open as an amateur. I can’t remember much of it but it was pretty cool.

“The Open is the biggest Championship in the world and everyone wants to play in it. It probably won’t sink in until I get there.”

Sloman was joined on eight-under-par by Truslow and de Castro Piera, whose mammoth day began at 6:30am as part of the second group out.

Six birdies in a blemish-free opening round saw the Spaniard set the pace and he backed that up with a two-under round of 69 to punch his ticket to Royal Birkdale.

“The conditions were relatively score-able, especially the first 18, and the first nine of the second round but the back nine was where it got links-y,” he said. “I can’t even tell you how much The Open means to me. It is the highest point of my career.”

Truslow also had an early alarm, teeing off for his first round at 7am, and recorded eagles at both par-5s on the front nine. That helped him to a five-under round of 66 and he overcame bogeys at 6 and 9 second time around to card a 68 and finish inside the dotted line.

Qualification rounded off a memorable few weeks for the 30-year-old from Fort Lauderdale, who got engaged last month having questioned his future in the sport last year.

“It’s been one hell of a ride,” he said. “I’ve questioned whether I want to continue doing it.

“But I love it, and my fiancée loves that I play, so I’ve kept going and I have a great team around me. I have a lot of people to thank for my ability to keep going.

“My fiancée knows my score before I do, she follows everything. We’re going to Lisbon now, we got engaged last week and our goal was to have an international trip this year.

“I knew I was playing this qualifier, so I figured we’d do something in Europe. Qualifying for The Open it might change our schedule a bit – she’s going to be like ‘the one week I get a vacation and you’ve got to practice’. But we’re going to go.”