Famous mentors light up amateur hour
A barista tutored by Lawrie, Els’ nephew and a Dane schooled by Bjorn – the Open’s part-timers are well taught, writes Sam Dean
‘Paul has supported me since I was 13 but I want to develop my own strategy’ Sam Locke
Age 19
Country Scotland
Nineteen years on from the greatest triumph of Paul Lawrie’s career, the chapter marked “Carnoustie” in the Scot’s life story takes an unfamiliar twist this week. Unable to play because of injury, the 1999 Open champion is here not to reminisce over past glories but rather look to the future.
Lawrie is here in his capacity as a sounding board for Sam Locke, a 19-year-old Scottish amateur who doubles up as a barista at the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre in Aberdeen. The teenager will hope that Lawrie’s guidance will provide him with a second advantage, to go with the home support, over the other three youngsters vying for the Silver Medal awarded to the tournament’s best amateur.
Locke was joined by Lawrie as he played 18 holes on Monday, although the teenager is strong enough in his mind, and confident enough in his ability, to want to confront Carnoustie in his own way. “Obviously he [Lawrie] has won it here, but I have been trying to develop a strategy that works best for me,” Locke says. “I am just trying to soak it all in and get used to the way the course is running.”
The relationship between Lawrie and the Locke family runs deep. Locke’s father, Andrew, is a PGA professional who once worked as Lawrie’s coach. “Paul has supported me through his foundation since I was about 13 or 14, but my dad was with him for a while and worked at his golf centre as well,” says Locke, who had not yet reached his first birthday when Lawrie lifted the Claret Jug. “That’s how I got to know him, and it escalated from there.”
Level-headed and realistic, Locke is treating his appearance this week as an educational experience. Lawrie’s main piece of advice has been to enjoy the occasion, says Locke, who adds that he wants to “embrace” the week.
“We will see what happens,” he says. “I am just concentrating on trying to do the best I can this week, picking up bits and pieces and learning. These guys are the best players in the world so you have to do your best to learn from the experience.”
This will surely be the extent of the expectations for Locke, who plays out of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire and booked his spot at the tournament by winning The Renaissance Club qualifying event earlier this month. Outsider wins are rare in golf ’s majors, with the past 26 of the sport’s biggest events being won by players who are ranked inside the world’s top 50.
It would be bordering on lunacy for Locke to think himself capable
of breaking that trend, not least because an amateur last won a major in 1933. So he will instead go out there, remember what his mentor told him, and hope his game does not let him down.
“My strengths are normally my chipping and putting, but recently
I have been hitting it better,” Locke says. “It comes and goes. Hopefully it will all come together this week.”
‘Talking to Bjorn was cool – but my twin brother is my big motivation’ Nicolai Hojgaard
Age 17
Country Denmark
Nicolai Hojgaard will be supported by his identical twin brother as he makes his links golf debut at the Open this week.
The Danish amateur has been leaning on his senior compatriots Thomas Bjorn, the Ryder Cup captain, and world No64 Thorbjorn Olesen this week, something he described – in terms you would expect from a teenager – as “a super-cool experience”.
But it is the relationship with his twin, Rasmus, which has fuelled him for his Open debut. The pair have been rivals for as long as he can remember but that will not stop them working together as the Hojgaard name makes its first appearance at a major.
“We are pushing each other every day,” says Nicolai, 17, who walked the course with Rasmus on Tuesday. “He is one of the big reasons we both started golf. We tried it for the first time when we were four years old, and we each got our first set of golf clubs when were eight.
“We decided about three years ago, when we were 14, that golf was what we wanted to do. We played handball as well, so we had to choose one. We thought we had better chances of making it as professional golf players, and I think golf is more fun.
“We have competed at everything: grades in school, golf and the number of handball goals we scored.”
Nicolai was ranked 35th in the amateur world rankings, four places behind Rasmus, before last month’s European Amateur Championship in Holland.
But it was Nicolai who became the first Danish player to win the tournament since 2010 and earn a place in the Open.
He had almost thrown the title away with a double-bogey seven on the final hole of the tournament, but did just enough to ensure a trip to Scotland and his first experience of a course like Carnoustie, with all its attendant challenges.
“I am feeling great and the course is stunning,” he says. “If you hit a low one it rolls very, very long. You need to pay attention to your shots all the time. The European Amateur was semi-links, so this really is my first time playing links golf. I like it.”
‘My uncle Ernie said winning the Championship would open doors’ Jovan Rebula
Age 20
Country South Africa
Family ties are nothing unusual in sport, but for Jovan Rebula, there will be something rather different in seeing his name sharing space with that of his uncle at Carnoustie.
Rebula, a 20-year-old South African, is just making his way in golf; his relative, on the other hand, is rather more established – Ernie Els, the two-time Open winner. Rebula, therefore, shoulders a rare sort of burden this week, knowing that every drive he launches and every putt he lands will be compared to the work of Els, who tees off three hours before him today.
“I have a tight relationship with my uncle Ernie and he is always motivating me,” said Rebula (below), who is staying in the same house as his uncle this week.
He qualified for the Open by winning the Amateur Championship last month, becoming the first South African to do so since Bobby Cole in 1966. The victory has also earned him invitations into next year’s Masters and US Open.
“He [Els] said winning the Amateur Championship would open doors for me and told me to go out there, to have fun and to grab the opportunity with both hands,” said Rebula, who turns 21 on Sunday. “He is just a great human being.”
The last of the four amateurs is 17-year-old Lin Yuxin, from China, who qualified by winning the Asia-pacific Championship last year. “He speaks perfect English and has a super dry sense of humour,” says Boyd Summerhays, his coach.
The big-hitting Lin, who is already 6ft 1in tall, will be the youngest Chinese golfer to play at the Open. Away from the course, he is home-schooled and has to complete his homework under the watchful eye of his mother, who travels alongside him wherever he goes.
Lin has committed to join the University of Southern California but may turn professional instead. He played in his first professional event in 2014 when he was just 13 years old, and moved to the US two years later. A naturally powerful player, he competed at the Masters earlier this year but failed to make the cut.