Local Golfer in bid to qualify for the Open

The Basingstoke Gazette web page is reporting that

A NORTH Hampshire golfer is just two rounds away from fulfilling his life-long dream of playing in The Open Championship.

Andrew Cloke, who is 26 and lives in Old Basing, has made it to the final qualifying stage of the most prestigious tournament in world golf.

He will tee off this morning, knowing that 36 good holes could see him playing alongside some of the biggest names in the sport at Royal Birkdale next week.

It will certainly be a tough challenge to make it to The Open starting line-up. To qualify, Cloke will have to finish in the top four at a 96-man tournament being held over two days at the West Lancashire Golf Club, near Liverpool, just 10 miles from Royal Birkdale.

His attempt to gain a place at The Open will begin at 11.34am. Although the South Winchester Golf Club-based professional knows he has a difficult task ahead, he still has high hopes.

"I have been in good form recently so it is a case of playing well for two rounds and posting a number," he said. "If I can do that, hopefully I will be playing at The Open.

I am not too nervous. I am going out to enjoy it and to keep doing what I have been doing.

"I will play my own game and hopefully do well. That is all I can really do at the end of the day.

"To get through would be a dream come true. Playing at The Open alongside people like Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington, just once, would be unbelievable."

Austrian Markus Brier and Andrew Oldcorn of Scotland, who have both played on the European Tour in the past, are among the golfers that Cloke is up against this week.

This is the second consecutive year that Cloke has made it to final qualifying for The Open and he plans to use the experience of 2007 to help him this time around.

West Lancashire, a links course like Royal Birkdale, will provide a stern test for Cloke and his opponents.

"It's tough, with narrow fairways and a lot of wind," he said. "If you stray from the fairways, the rough is hard to get out of and there are dunes and pot bunkers to contend with. It is a case of sacrificing some distance for accuracy, to keep the ball on the fairway."

Cloke earned his place in Lancashire with a good performance in regional qualifying, which took place at Royal Ashdown Forest in East Sussex on Wednesday.

More than 100 golfers entered and Cloke managed to secure a fourth-place finish with a level par round, earning him one of 15 spots on offer at final qualifying.