Kirby Muxloe’s Frazer Jones achieved one of his dreams on Tuesday, as he qualified for The Open, after shooting -7 across 36 holes at Burnham & Berrow.
The 19-year-old, who was part of the England Golf set-up from 2019 to 2023, finished 4th in the 72-player field, beating the likes of Ryder Cup players Chris Wood and Oliver Wilson, and LIV Golf star Anirban Lahiri.
Sadly England Golf Men’s Squad stars Dominic Clemons and Charlie Forster missed out in Somerset, but for Jones, it was a dream come true.
He admitted: “It’s something I’ve always dreamt of, especially being English. You always grow up watching The Open, so to be qualifying for it and playing in it – it’s a bit of a whirlwind really.
“I got off to a poor start in the morning, with bogey-bogey, but then turned it around with an eagle on the 4th and a birdie on the 5th which settled me down a bit. I had a pretty steady first round to finish 2-under and it was a really quick turnaround – I signed my card, grabbed a packed lunch and went straight back out for my second round.
“The wind started to pick up in the second round and I bogeyed the 1st before making a couple of tough up-and-downs, which were good for a bit of momentum, as it could’ve got out of hand pretty quickly in the wind. I made a two-putt birdie on 8 and said to Dad on the 10th tee at 2-under that I knew it wasn’t going to get me in, so I went a bit more aggressive with some of the target lines and allowed the putter to get warm.”
Jones’ ploy paid off, as he birdied four straight holes – 12, 13, 14 and 15 to catapult himself up the leaderboard. And the Leicestershire golfer revealed: “After I birdied four in a row, there was a leaderboard on the back of the 16th green and I said to Dad that I wasn’t going to look because it wouldn’t change how I played the 17th – a 200-yard par-3 where you just need to hit the middle of the green and give yourself a birdie look.”
Jones hit the green and birdied 17 which proved pivotal, before calmly parring the final hole to finish on -7, booking him a place at Portrush for a chance to play for the Claret Jug.
Asked about celebrations, Jones said: “I got off the course and my phone blew up so I was replying to all my friends and family and then we drove three hours back to Leicester – before I helped dad at work in the morning!
“I’ll probably have a few drinks this weekend with friends but nothing too heavy!”
Now it’s time for the 19-year-old to prepare for one of the biggest events in the world of golf, and he is hoping he gets the chance to tee it up alongside his childhood hero.
He revealed: “My idol has always been Rory McIlroy. I’ve always used to use the same clubs and wear the same clothing when I was growing up, so it’d be great to play alongside him – I’ll definitely be trying to get a picture with him!
“I also like Ludvig Aberg – some European names would be good to play with, and you’ve got some obvious names like Scottie Scheffler who’d be fun to just watch hitting balls down the range!
“I don’t have any expectations, I just want to have a good time and try and treat it as a normal golf tournament – if that’s possible! I guess the goal would be to win the Silver Medal for being top amateur – that would be the cherry on top.
“I know a few people who have played the course after visiting Portrush a few years ago, including my coach, so I’ll be speaking to them to find out what you need to do well around there and kind of match my practice to that.”
It hasn’t all been plain sailing for Jones this year though, who revealed that he had to battle back from a tough period.
Despite impressive showings at last year's English U25 Championship where he was tied-3rd and the English Amateur Championship where he reached the semi-finals, he explained: “At the start of this year when I was in the USA, I was struggling to get in my college team. I was back home for Christmas, I didn’t practise very well and I wasn’t playing very well. When I got back to the USA I couldn’t get in the team for the first few months of the year and I was finding things pretty tough, I hadn’t played a lot in America and only played the last four events. It’s not the easiest thing to deal with when you’re not playing well and not being picked.
“I was determined to turn things around, so I just practised more, and with my coaches both in England and the USA, I implemented a few slight changes to practice, around getting used to the cold weather, course management, and just being smarter around the course. I’m just really pleased that I’ve come out the other side as it seems to have paid off.
“I won the Conference Championship with University of North Carolina-Charlotte in April which was a highlight, but missed the cut by one shot at the Scottish Men’s Open Championship and then missed the cut by two shots at the British Amateur Championship. I was on the edge of having a good week or poor week, but I was playing pretty well, just not scoring.
“It clicked a bit more at Lindrick for the Regional Open Qualifier and then obviously this week, it was great, and hopefully I can take that forward.”
Jones had Dad Andy on the bag for his big performance on Tuesday and will likely be turning to him in a couple of weeks in Northern Ireland.
“It’s only recently I’ve had Dad on the bag, since the British Amateur, but it’s been great,” he said. “I played pretty well and then at the Regional Qualifier he was on the bag where I won, and again it worked, so it’s been a trend.”
Asked where this achievement ranks, Jones added: “I represented England Golf in the 2022 and 2023 Boys’ Home Internationals which was special, especially winning all six matches I played in 2023, but this week’s achievement has to go to the top!”
Sadly England Golf Men’s Squad stars Dominic Clemons and Charlie Forster missed out in Somerset, but for Jones, it was a dream come true.
He admitted: “It’s something I’ve always dreamt of, especially being English. You always grow up watching The Open, so to be qualifying for it and playing in it – it’s a bit of a whirlwind really.
“I got off to a poor start in the morning, with bogey-bogey, but then turned it around with an eagle on the 4th and a birdie on the 5th which settled me down a bit. I had a pretty steady first round to finish 2-under and it was a really quick turnaround – I signed my card, grabbed a packed lunch and went straight back out for my second round.
“The wind started to pick up in the second round and I bogeyed the 1st before making a couple of tough up-and-downs, which were good for a bit of momentum, as it could’ve got out of hand pretty quickly in the wind. I made a two-putt birdie on 8 and said to Dad on the 10th tee at 2-under that I knew it wasn’t going to get me in, so I went a bit more aggressive with some of the target lines and allowed the putter to get warm.”
Jones’ ploy paid off, as he birdied four straight holes – 12, 13, 14 and 15 to catapult himself up the leaderboard. And the Leicestershire golfer revealed: “After I birdied four in a row, there was a leaderboard on the back of the 16th green and I said to Dad that I wasn’t going to look because it wouldn’t change how I played the 17th – a 200-yard par-3 where you just need to hit the middle of the green and give yourself a birdie look.”
Jones hit the green and birdied 17 which proved pivotal, before calmly parring the final hole to finish on -7, booking him a place at Portrush for a chance to play for the Claret Jug.
Asked about celebrations, Jones said: “I got off the course and my phone blew up so I was replying to all my friends and family and then we drove three hours back to Leicester – before I helped dad at work in the morning!
“I’ll probably have a few drinks this weekend with friends but nothing too heavy!”
Now it’s time for the 19-year-old to prepare for one of the biggest events in the world of golf, and he is hoping he gets the chance to tee it up alongside his childhood hero.
He revealed: “My idol has always been Rory McIlroy. I’ve always used to use the same clubs and wear the same clothing when I was growing up, so it’d be great to play alongside him – I’ll definitely be trying to get a picture with him!
“I also like Ludvig Aberg – some European names would be good to play with, and you’ve got some obvious names like Scottie Scheffler who’d be fun to just watch hitting balls down the range!
“I don’t have any expectations, I just want to have a good time and try and treat it as a normal golf tournament – if that’s possible! I guess the goal would be to win the Silver Medal for being top amateur – that would be the cherry on top.
“I know a few people who have played the course after visiting Portrush a few years ago, including my coach, so I’ll be speaking to them to find out what you need to do well around there and kind of match my practice to that.”
It hasn’t all been plain sailing for Jones this year though, who revealed that he had to battle back from a tough period.
Despite impressive showings at last year's English U25 Championship where he was tied-3rd and the English Amateur Championship where he reached the semi-finals, he explained: “At the start of this year when I was in the USA, I was struggling to get in my college team. I was back home for Christmas, I didn’t practise very well and I wasn’t playing very well. When I got back to the USA I couldn’t get in the team for the first few months of the year and I was finding things pretty tough, I hadn’t played a lot in America and only played the last four events. It’s not the easiest thing to deal with when you’re not playing well and not being picked.
“I was determined to turn things around, so I just practised more, and with my coaches both in England and the USA, I implemented a few slight changes to practice, around getting used to the cold weather, course management, and just being smarter around the course. I’m just really pleased that I’ve come out the other side as it seems to have paid off.
“I won the Conference Championship with University of North Carolina-Charlotte in April which was a highlight, but missed the cut by one shot at the Scottish Men’s Open Championship and then missed the cut by two shots at the British Amateur Championship. I was on the edge of having a good week or poor week, but I was playing pretty well, just not scoring.
“It clicked a bit more at Lindrick for the Regional Open Qualifier and then obviously this week, it was great, and hopefully I can take that forward.”
Jones had Dad Andy on the bag for his big performance on Tuesday and will likely be turning to him in a couple of weeks in Northern Ireland.
“It’s only recently I’ve had Dad on the bag, since the British Amateur, but it’s been great,” he said. “I played pretty well and then at the Regional Qualifier he was on the bag where I won, and again it worked, so it’s been a trend.”
Asked where this achievement ranks, Jones added: “I represented England Golf in the 2022 and 2023 Boys’ Home Internationals which was special, especially winning all six matches I played in 2023, but this week’s achievement has to go to the top!”
ENDS
Contact details:
Tom Vale, Press & Media Manager
Tel: 07912 240850
Email: tom.vale@englandgolf.org
www.englandgolf.org
Contact details:
Tom Vale, Press & Media Manager
Tel: 07912 240850
Email: tom.vale@englandgolf.org
www.englandgolf.org