It’s cut day at the 153rd Open Championship and one man will be watching nervously as to whether an odd or even number make the halfway cut. Royal Portrush Head PGA Professional Gary McNeill hopes to relive the dream he experienced in 2019. McNeill played as a marker during the weekend of the 2019 Open, teeing up alongside Paul Waring and Ashton Turner after the halfway cut resulted in an uneven number of players. As is tradition, the honour of essentially ‘making up the numbers’ is given to the PGA professional at the host club. For the members of Royal Portrush, seeing their local pro compete in a major championship was as thrilling as watching Tiger and company, and it was a perfect addition to a glorious weekend as Lowry won the Claret Jug.
It’s an honour that few get to experience, and while McNeill would love to hit the curtain-raising tee shot for the weekend battle for the Claret Jug, he is content if once was enough. “I was very fortunate that it happened in 2019. I have put myself forward to do it this year; it will be the last time I do it. The next time it comes back here, somebody else can take it on,” says McNeill with a smile. “Even if it falls on an even number and I don’t get to play, at least I will have that experience from 2019.”
McNeill had been fine-tuning his game in case he was required to step in on Saturday morning, but it was still a whirlwind when he was given the nod to play at the eleventh hour on Friday night. “There was all sorts going through my head, and lots of messages coming through on whether I would be needed or not. Then the player liaison officer, Clare Welsh, called me and said, ‘We are half an hour from confirming this, but it looks like we will need you. Are you still prepared to do this?’ So, she gave me that bail-out option at the eleventh hour. “I had gone there myself before the Open and tried to imagine what it would be like. You don’t know until 9pm the night before if you will be playing or not, but you spend the week preparing as if you are expecting to play.”
McNeill has carved out a successful career in professional golf, but at the peak of his playing powers, he never qualified for an Open Championship. Not every club professional puts their name forward to be the marker who steps up in case an odd number makes the halfway cut, but the Northern Irishman was determined to have his chance to rub shoulders with the best players in the world. “It was a great experience. I was involved in the committee at the club the whole way through and very much involved in the retail side. I enjoyed the interaction with the other host venues and the other pros at those venues because everybody’s role was slightly different,” says McNeill, who managed to break 80 on both days and had his caddie, Paul ‘The Rocket’ Rodich – a member for almost 50 years – alongside him.
“When it came to dealing with the playing marker situation, which traditionally falls to the club pro, the interest in chatting to the other guys was great. Some had gone in for it, but the cut fell on an even number; others had turned it down and regretted it, so it was a mishmash of experiences. I was very determined to do it, and I’m glad I did. I put a lot of preparation into it and got my game into decent shape. It was quite an experience.”
McNeill has been the club professional at Royal Portrush for over two decades and has developed a strong friendship with 2011 Champion Golfer of the Year, Darren Clarke, while also dabbling in some light coaching with Pádraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell.
He enjoyed a distinguished amateur career, winning the 1991 Irish Amateur Championship in Ballybunion, an Irish Boys Championship, and representing Ulster and Ireland at every level, as well as Great Britain and Ireland at Boys and Youths level. He became a PGA professional and began his coaching career at Royal County Down. Prior to his appointment at Royal Portrush, he was the Head Professional at The MacGregor Academy and Head Coach to the Ulster teams. He has also been a multiple winner on the Irish PGA circuit.
Plenty of experience under his belt, but nothing could prepare him for the first tee shot at the Open Championship – on Saturday, on live television, in front of packed grandstands. The first tee shot had already got the better of McIlroy, whose Open dream began and ended in minutes on Thursday morning, while Darren Clarke had to change from an iron to a driver just to make contact, such were his nerves. “The first tee, I was absolutely terrified. You can see how it affected Rory. Darren Clarke, even,” McNeill chuckles. “I’ve known Darren a long time, and I asked him why he teed his ball up first before exchanging scorecards with his playing partners. He said, ‘It’s as simple as this: I was afraid I couldn’t get the ball on the tee.’ He felt he had to hit the driver.
“You could see the impact it had on Rory, so for the poor old club pro going out onto the first tee – I was selling stuff in the shop throughout the week – Paul Waring was great with me. He was very understanding and knew I would be very nervous. I met him in the players’ lounge that morning, and we had breakfast together. We ended up on the range and putting green at the same time. He said to me when we were heading to the first tee, ‘Come on, we’ll walk on the tee together.’ So, that was lovely.
“When you tee the ball up, though, you have absolutely no control over what’s about to happen with your golf swing. There’s no point even thinking about your golf swing. It was over in a flash, and away it went. It did go very quiet once I settled in to play the shot, and I was very numb when I made the swing – I could hardly feel anything at all. I somehow made contact with the ball and got it down the left rough, but it was in play. After the first hole, I was fine.”
Roared on by local support, McNeill settled in well and gave a good account of himself. But the highlight of the day was surely the grandstand finish he put on for the late-morning crowd. He rolled in a tramliner for par on the par-4 17th before finding the middle of the 18th fairway and cracking a 3-iron into the heart of the green. He then got to enjoy a taste of the greatest walk in golf.
“The support out there was unbelievable. That was Saturday, a 9:30 start, and I remember the word going out was that anyone going to the Open for the third round was advised to get there early. So, of course, when I teed off, the place was jammed, and the grandstands were full of people. By the time we got to 17, there was a huge double grandstand along 17 and 13 on both sides of the greens, and they were both full. I was very much aware of that playing the 13th, the par-3 down the hill, and then we went around the loop and came back to the 17th. The pin was on the right-hand side, and my second shot was just about on the green on the left. I was trying to roll it close, and it managed to fall in – it was unbelievable. A fantastic experience; it made it onto the live feed!
“The 18th was something I hadn’t considered before. I finished off nicely, holed a long putt on 17, and hit a lovely drive on 18. I hit one of the best 3-irons I’ve hit in 15–20 years into the 18th green. I’d sat in those Open grandstands on 18 so often over the years and watched the players, and it was lovely to do that. I never got to play in the Open, and here I was – it was great fun.”
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