Joe Long

Long came close to grabbing a place in The 148th Open at Royal Portrush when he finished joint third at the European Amateur Championship a month earlier, but he did make it to The 149th Open at Royal St George’s after becoming The Amateur Champion at Royal Birkdale.

He defeated good friend Joe Harvey 4&3 in the 36-hole final and said: “My game plan was just to try and stick in the present as much as I could, forget about all the rewards and benefits that come with winning. I can’t believe it, really – it’s all so surreal.”

Long went into the event 102nd on the World Amateur Golf Rankings, having been runner up in the 2018 English Amateur Championship and part of England’s winning home internationals side the same season.

As well as securing a place in The Open, his victory in The Amateur Championship earned an invitation to the Masters at Augusta National and led to a Walker Cup cap in May. A stomach bug limited him to just one singles match in Florida, which he won, while he missed the cut at Augusta and Royal St George's.

Long is a member of the Lansdown club, having joined them as a junior in 2008.