Matt Ford

Won the 36-hole Final Qualifying competition at Prince’s in Kent to earn a first start in the Open Championship at the age of 44.

Shot rounds of 71 and 68, the second of those including two eagles and three birdies but also a double bogey and two bogeys.

“I’m obviously delighted,” said the Swindon-born golfer, who lives in Maidstone. ”It’s going to be a massive thrill to play in front of that crowd. The family will come up and I’m so excited - I’m looking forward to a great week.”

He went into the event ranked 1,048th on the world rankings and having missed the halfway cut in seven of his last eight tournaments, competing on both the DP World Tour and Challenge Tour.

His best finish on the main circuit was coming second to Trevor Fisher Jnr in the 2015 Africa Open, where he led after the first and second rounds, but could not match the South African’s dazzling 63-64 finish on the weekend.

That came after Ford had contemplating becoming a postman prior to surviving the Tour’s qualifying school at the 10th attempt the previous November. Fisher described the 5ft 9in Ford as “a little British bulldog” after their title battle.