Alex Fitzpatrick's Open heroics just the start as he aims to reach DP World Tour

The 24-year-old from Sheffield enjoyed a stellar week at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, maximising his Open experience to the extent that he shot a 65 on the Saturday and played in the fifth-to-last group on the Sunday of his major championship debut.

If eventual winner Brian Harman had have had the slip-up the chasing pack and the majority of fans at a sodden Hoylake were yearning for, then Fitzpatrick was as well-placed as any English golfer to capitalise, especially after birdieing the first to move to five under par.

If he stole a glance at the electronic scoreboards dotted around the course at any time over those opening holes on Sunday, he will have spotted his name right there in contention.

That he fell away with more bogeys than birdies in a closing 73 and into a tie for 17th, should not detract from what was an exceptional week, one that underlined his own self-belief that he belongs in that company.

“I came here with no expectations and knew my game was in a decent spot, so it was nice to play well for the most part and compete against the best in the world," he said afterwards.

“I feel like I've always tried to have confidence in myself, and sometimes I think I let it get to me rather than actually believing in my ability, and luckily I have a great group around me who push me and try and give me as much confidence as possible.

“It's a difficult game, so I feel like I can compete with the best in the world with my game, and I feel like it's definitely shown me now that I can do it.

"It's just a case of getting to compete against the best in the world more often than just once.”

Now comes the hard part, getting back there on a regular basis and ensuring his week at Hoylake is just the start, and not the pinnacle of, his burgeoning career.

First, the young man who learned the game alongside brother Matt at Hallamshire Golf Club, has to manage the emotional fall that will inevitably come after the adrenaline-surge of the past few days.

In his first year as a professional golfer after graduating from Wake Forest University in North Carolina, America, the former Walker Cup player makes his living on the Challenge Tour.

And that is the level he will return to this week in Ireland.

He earned a career-high £146,000 for his Open exploits, money that dwarfs anything he has previously banked, but it only lifted him from 25th to 21st on the Challenge Tour points list. The top 20 at the end of the year gain promotion to the DP World Tour.

Fitzpatrick has 11 more events on the continent’s second-tier circuit to try and secure playing rights on the top circuit for next season.

As hard as the reality might be when he tees off at Headfort Golf Club in County Meath on Thursday, Fitzpatrick is pragmatic.

"It'll be Challenge Tour for the rest of the year and see if I can play well enough to get off," he said.

“No disrespect to Challenge Tour, it's the Tour I play on, but you play against the best players in the world in a major championship, so I think a lot of things would be a bit of a come-down from this.

“But it is what it is. I've got to do it. I've got to play there. Just got to get off it as quick as I can.”

A finish higher up the leaderboard at Royal Liverpool would have secured him a spot on the DP World Tour next season but he admitted that was playing on his mind a little going into the final round.

"I think after Saturday's round, a lot of people tell you what you could get and what might happen if you play well, and it's hard,” said Fitzpatrick, who despite the pressure, was high-fiving children in the gallery as he walked to tee boxes.

"It's hard to get it off your mind.

“(People saying) if you shoot two- or three-under suddenly you're top-five and suddenly you're exempt on this tour and all these sort of things.

"That was in the back of my mind, which made it a little tougher.

"I was hoping I could maybe get it done today, but that's not the case, so I'll have to keep grinding on the Challenge Tour. But I can't grumble with the week. If you'd have said finish top 20 at the start of the week, you'd have taken it.”

As much as he wants to forge his own path, Alex does have a greater profile than others at Challenge Tour level because of his brother Matt, who is a major winner, a Ryder Cup player and a star of the Netflix documentary ‘Full Swing’.

The knock-on effect of that, and his performance at Hoylake, may see him presented with sponsors invites into DP World Tour events later this summer.

But how ever he does it, don’t be surprised if Alex Fitzpatrick becomes a regular Open contender.