Ulverston amateur golfer has aspirations of becoming pro

Luke Quint, a recent UCLan University graduate in Sports Coaching, shot a round of +1 to finish Tied 3 in a 120-strong field at Hesketh Golf Club in tough conditions to give him a chance of qualifying for The Open at Royal Liverpool.

The 21-year-old attended the penultimate qualifying round at Dundonald Links Course in North Ayrshire, Scotland, with his coach and caddy Lee Edwards and shot three over in the opening 18 holes leaving him five shots back of the leaders.

To qualify he was required to finish in the top four but despite his best efforts finished +8 (T42) after shooting a five-over final round.

Like all sportsmen and women, Quint was initially disappointed with his performance, but changed his mindset after taking time to reflect on the experience.

“I was so nervous going into the first tee shot but after that I felt okay,” he said.

"I’ve played in front of decent crowds before but this was the biggest stage I’ve ever played on. I’m not really too serious of a person, I just kept doing everything that I normally would and hoped I played well on the day.

“There were some top tour pros who were playing there like Aaron Rai (World #88) and Jason Kokrak (World #180) who has won three times on the PGA Tour, so it was a great experience to be playing with those guys. That was a big confidence boost in itself.

“Overall, I played awfully, but after a day or two, I started to look back and soon realised that there were more positives than negatives.”

Quint, who admires PGA Tour golfers Adam Scott and Jason Day because of his half-Australian roots on his father's side, admitted that the most important aspect of his game that he can improve on is his mentality and self-belief – a battle that is all too familiar for a lot of golfers.

He added: “You see the pros and they look like they belong, whereas I had a bit of imposter syndrome. I know I've got the game, it's just believing in myself.

"That’s probably half of the battle especially in golf. Now I’ve done it once, I want to do it again and again. I’m an amateur now but I have aspirations of becoming a pro.”

The university graduate plays locally at the Ulverston Golf Club having originally played at Penrith Golf Club where Edwards first started coaching him at the age of 13.

Through Edwards’ tutelage, Quint has gone from a +4 handicap to a +6 handicap and Gents Captain Martin Pugh at Ulverston Golf Club believes the talented amateur is capable of going to the next level.

“I was massively proud of Luke,” said Pugh. "What he’s done is incredible. Luke is the lowest handicapper at the club and can mix it with the top-level players. I’m sure a bit of sponsorship would make all of the difference.”