Tour News

The Open Championship’s most unlikely contestant

Published

10 years ago

Jul 17, 2014

John Singleton had some jitters on the first tee like a lot of Open Championship contestants. The difference? Singleton doesn’t play golf for a living; he works at a resin factory in nearby Birkenhead.

To qualify for the event, Singleton shot 72-66 with clubs borrowed from a friend (his friend had newer wedges). Sounds like a corny pitch line for a movie doesn’t it? Well, it’s real life this week.

Singleton, 30, took the labor job at Advanced Electrical Varnishes to pay the bills, and according to reports, his girlfriend Lucy urged him to take a day off work to try and qualify for the Open. When he did, Singleton’s boss gave him two weeks off to prepare and gave his employees a holiday today to go out to the grounds and support him.

His hands were shaking visibly on the tee at No. 1 and backed off the tee shot. It was a nervous moment for all onlookers, that is until he striped one down the middle.

Forgive the pun, but after a “working man’s par” at the first, he made the turn at 1-over and then birdied No. 10. The wheels came off on the back nine, however, and Singleton finished with a 6-over 78.

He may not be satisfied with his round, but hey, I’m sure he enjoyed the day off work.

Your Reaction?

LIKE0
LEGIT0
WOW0
LOL0
IDHT0
FLOP0
OB0
SHANK0

Related Topics:

Up Next

Social Media roundup from The Open Championship

Don't Miss

Fantasy Cheat Sheet: The Open Championship

Andrew Tursky

He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

7 Comments

Forsbrand

Jul 18, 2014 at 2:20 am

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/wirral-factory-worker-secures-place-7362545

Reply Report comment
- Rich
  
  Jul 18, 2014 at 10:33 am
  
  Awesome. Thanks heaps
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Forsbrand
    
    Jul 18, 2014 at 3:41 pm
    
    No probs Rich. I’m at the open tomorrow, but an interview with John singleton asked him if he was looking forward to going back to work Monday….No was the answer. A very likeable chap indeed, someone like chubby chandler could sign him provide a bit of extra coaching and he could well be a future tour player 🙂
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Rich
      
      Jul 18, 2014 at 9:55 pm
      
      Yeah, I bet he’s not. Neither would I. Great story. Shame to see he missed the cut but a good 70 in his second round none the less. Hopefully he can use this as a spring board to something more for his playing career and he won’t have to make resin for too much longer. Good luck to him. Thanks again Forsbrand.
      
      Reply Report comment
Rich

Jul 17, 2014 at 8:14 pm

I would have liked a bit more detail in the story as well. Would like to know more about this guys story.

Reply Report comment
Pingback: The Open Championship’s most unlikely contestant | Spacetimeandi.com
Double Mocha Man

Jul 17, 2014 at 11:44 am

What’s the rest of the story? Why did he have to borrow clubs to qualify? Sounds like he’s an accomplished golfer… must own his own clubs. This kind of story is what will make the average Joe, who’s never hit a golf ball in his life, think he can qualify for a major golf tournament.

I played toss yesterday with my son using a Nerf football. Excuse me while I go play Quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks.

Reply Report comment

Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Equipment

Photos from the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge

Published

1 hour ago

May 21, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is live this week at Colonial Country Club for the Charles Schwab Challenge.

Custom Camerons and some “super” new grips from SuperStroke are filling our galleries early in the week as well as WITBs — including the always interesting “Cashmere Keith” Mitchell.

Check out links to our photos below, which we’ll continue to update throughout the week.

And while you’re making your way through our photos, be sure to check out last year’s incredible gallery of prototype and personal Ben Hogan golf clubs.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.

Your Reaction?

LIKE0
LEGIT0
WOW0
LOL0
IDHT0
FLOP0
OB0
SHANK0

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 PGA Championship

Published

7 days ago

May 14, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site this week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, for the PGA Championship.

While we see fewer equipment changes and new gear seeding at major championships, we get a look at custom gear and looks into the bags of players we rarely see, which is just as exciting. In the case of the PGA Championship, this means a look at the gear some of the PGA Professionals who qualified for the tournament will be gaming, and LIV players, such as Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed.

Check out links to all our albums from Valhalla below and check back throughout the week as we continue to update.

General Albums

2024 PGA Championship – Monday #1

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

Your Reaction?

LIKE11
LEGIT1
WOW0
LOL0
IDHT0
FLOP0
OB0
SHANK0

News

Photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship

Published

2 weeks ago

May 7, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is live this week at the Wells Fargo Championship as a field of the world’s best golfers descend upon Charlotte, North Carolina, hoping to tame the beast that is Quail Hollow Club in this Signature Event — only Scottie Scheffler, who is home awaiting the birth of his first child, is absent.

From the grounds at Quail Hollow, we have our usual assortment of general galleries and WITBs — including a look at left-hander Akshay Bhatia’s setup. Among the pullout albums, we have a look inside Cobra’s impressive new tour truck for you to check out. Also featured is a special look at Quail Hollow king, Rory McIlroy.

Be sure to check back throughout the week as we add more galleries.