Top Man (photo above) — David Clark is a happy camper after his 67 led a full field of hopefuls at Goswick’s Open Regional Qualifying event. Though his official affiliation is Morpeth, Clark is also a member at Goswick and plays here frequently.
The R&A returned to Goswick Links on Monday to stage regional qualifying for The Open Championship after a three-year COVID-induced hiatus. And by all accounts it was worth the wait.
The event attracted a large international field of professionals and top amateurs. Goswick’s authentic links layout was wonderfully presented. And the weather was downright glorious, with blue skies, warm temperatures and at most a modest breeze.
Still, our James Braid masterpiece more than held its own against all of that firepower. David Clark — who hails from Morpeth but is also a Goswick member — paced the field with a 5-under-par 67, due in large part to a red-hot putter. Nine other players also advanced from Goswick to Final Qualifying, with the final three spots allotted via a playoff among eight hopefuls (including Goswick member Joe Robson) who each carded 70. You can find the full and final leaderboard here.
Among those who fell just short with a 71 was West Lothian’s Andrew Benson (pictured above) who earned the unofficial award for best shot of the day when he aced the 151-yard par three 15th hole with a 50-degree wedge. It was his first hole-in-one ever and believed to be the first ace over the years Goswick has hosted regional qualifying. Talk about good timing!
Also of note, Goswick’s own David Ord — a PGA professional coach (pictured above teeing off at the 4th) — came in with a thoroughly respectable 74.
But the big winner was our 130-year-old links that earned rave reviews across the board for its fiery fairways and fast and true greens. Everyone is already looking forward to doing it all over again a year from now and again in 2024.
For now, all eyes shift to Final Qualifying on 28 June and then to the Old Course and St Andrews for the 150th Open 19-22 July. Here’s hoping one or more of our 10 qualifiers realises their dream and makes it into the championship field.