The Open: Serene approach to Open benefited Marcus Armitage

By The Newsroom
Published 18th Jul 2018, 08:37 BST
Updated 18th Jul 2018, 10:57 BST
Huddersfield-based Marcus Armitage, seen during practice at Bradley Park, has qualified for the first time for the oldest of golfs four major championships (Picture: Simon Hulme).Huddersfield-based Marcus Armitage, seen during practice at Bradley Park, has qualified for the first time for the oldest of golfs four major championships (Picture: Simon Hulme).
Huddersfield-based Marcus Armitage, seen during practice at Bradley Park, has qualified for the first time for the oldest of golfs four major championships (Picture: Simon Hulme).
A TOUR player normally follows a complicated and time-consuming process to decide his or her strategy for tackling a course in an important event when the choice of club to be taken off each tee is of paramount importance.

Devising their plan is likely to involve both walking and playing the course with their caddie during practice days.

The pair will write copious notes about the distance of various hazards from the tees and weather forecasts may well be consulted – to factor in possible windspeeds and directions – before they arrive at their final choices.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

When Howley Hall’s Marcus Armitage tried to claim a spot in the Open Championship via Final Qualifying at St Annes Old Links earlier this month his course strategy was shaped by a forgotten passport, a traffic jam and a cancelled flight.

Howley Hall's Marcus Armitage getting ready for the Open with practice at Bradley Park (Picture: Simon Hulme).Howley Hall's Marcus Armitage getting ready for the Open with practice at Bradley Park (Picture: Simon Hulme).
Howley Hall's Marcus Armitage getting ready for the Open with practice at Bradley Park (Picture: Simon Hulme).

Well, not entirely true – another component was the bone-hard condition of St Annes’ fairways on which he had made unsuccessful attempts before to qualify for the oldest of golf’s four major tournaments.

“I had a nightmare time the week before on the Challenge Tour in Denmark,” says Armitage, who turned 31 on Sunday.

“First I left my passport at home, so I had to buy a new flight. Then coming back I got stuck in traffic and thought I was going to miss the flight. I made it in time – but then the flight was cancelled and EasyJet said the earliest they could get me home was Thursday – and qualifying was on the Tuesday.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I had to buy another flight and the only place I could get to was Heathrow on the Monday at 7.30 at night, so I got my dad to pick me up at Heathrow and drive me back home.

“I got about four hours’ sleep and I hadn’t had a practice round, I just picked my caddie up in the morning and we drove to St Annes.

“When we got there the golf course just looked totally different to how I’ve seen it before. It was brown everywhere and I just thought, ‘do you know what? I’m just going to hit driver all the way – if it’s my day, it’s my day’.”

It was his day. He shot 65 69 to qualify in second place and will peg it up alongside the world’s best golfers at Carnoustie this week. However, his philosophical approach to his fate did not last throughout the entire 36 holes, as he recalls.

Hide Ad