What it means to host Final Qualifying for The Open

15/07/2024

West Lancs Head Professional Gavin Abson shares how the club make a huge success of staging Final Qualifying for Royal Troon.

This year West Lancashire GC once again hosted Final Qualifying for The Open as Japan's Masahiro Kawamura and Hoylake amateur Matthew Dodd-Berry, along with DP World Tour winners Sam Horsfield and Dan Brown, stamped their tickets to Royal Troon. Sergio Garcia would come up two shots shy on three under. The course, the ninth oldest in England, once again stood up to the modern game as just 14 players broke par.

Gavin Abson has been at the Open Final Qualifying course for nine years and is an Advanced PGA Professional as well as the Lancashire County Academy Coach. Prior to his move to the Northwest, Abson was the Head Professional at The Carrick on Loch Lomond for six years which followed two years at Royal Troon. Here he talks us through what goes into hosting Final Qualifying ahead of the greatest week on the calendar.

Last year captured big crowds and huge names. How did this year compare?

In 2023 the weather was reasonable, but I think that spectator numbers were fairly similar this year despite the colder weather. We had a day that was a fair test for qualifying for an Open, the defence of a links course is often the weather or the wind especially. So, you wouldn’t want a benign day and it was nice to have a good test. Prior to the day of qualifying Sergio Garcia said that he was happy that the weather was predicted to be as it was because he thought that last year was more open. It would have been nice to see him get through, but it wasn’t meant to be. Also, it gives the spectators and those watching on social media an opportunity to see West Lancs when it bares its teeth a little bit.

Last year we had three players in double figures, so it was nice for them to play West Lancs on a good links day. Our Course Manager Stuart Hogg has done a tremendous job and, to be honest, that is the course that the members play throughout the year. Obviously the only thing that tends to change is the speed of the greens very slightly but, in terms of the rough lines, they are exactly the same for member or visitor play.

How do you help to make the day work?

I’ve been here for nine years and the club have hosted many championships , working closely with the R&A and England Golf. As that relationship has developed, the R&A entrust us with more and more and we work together well.

Last year, we even did player registration in the shop which went really well and we did that again this year. We are responsible for making sure that the R&A are aware of any changes and things like where the players are staying and that their contact numbers are correct. And then obviously we control the operation of the driving range and that is really our job in addition to serving the members, visitors and players in the shop

How does the range work?

It becomes an R&A venue two days before. On Sunday the range opens and we will have ProV1s on the range as Titleist sponsor all of the driving ranges that host Final Qualifying and also the actual Open. We get the delivery a few days prior to that and we’ll swap our own driving range balls out for their balls. They will try to replicate what you will experience at The Open and, with the stature of player that is in Final Qualifying, I think it is even more important that they do that. They will put signage up on the range that replicates what they would see on the driving range at The Open. I remember playing in Final Qualifying at Western Gailes in 2004 and even then, we had ProV1s on the driving range.

The off-course set-up is equally as impressive

In the clubhouse, the members and their guests were fed in addition to the players, caddies and officials and then externally all the visitors got looked after either by our halfway house or the two outside catering options, three if you include the ice cream van! There were several planning meetings both with the R&A and internally as a management team to discuss what we think works and obviously we will try and learn from anything that we could have done better. The feedback was fantastic regarding not just the course but also how well people were catered for from a food and beverage point of view.

What was the players' feedback like?

It is very difficult when you get feedback from players after they have finished as that is often clouded by their result. However, there were several players who came in, who we got to know over the few days and who didn't qualify and said that the course was in immaculate shape and it was a true links test and one that they really enjoyed; which is testament to the work that Stuart and his team do on the course and to the course itself.

How do you measure the benefits of hosting Final Qualifying?

It is very difficult to actually measure that. It obviously adds and raises the profile of the club and we will actively use that to leverage our profile.

From my own personal point of view, my business doesn’t get much from the actual days of the event, but I am still really honoured and privileged to be the host Pro. The bigger picture is if we continue to raise the profile of the club of hosting such events, then my business and the business of the club flourish consequently. It would be very short-sighted just to say that we don't sell much in the shop, it is actually these three days that help me sell what I do sell throughout the year. It makes people want to come and play and we can tell our visitors with confidence that they are in for a treat.

We have got another two big events still to come in August with the Jacques Leglise and Junior Vagliano trophies. I think West Lancs is definitely becoming one of those courses that you have got to go and play and every visitor who comes off the course is always very complimentary of not only the condition but the actual design.