'I'm going to be aggressive at Hoylake' - Wakefield's Dan Bradbury determined to seize his Open chance

It had become a Friday tradition that every time the game’s oldest major was played on England’s west coast, he, his Dad and his uncle would make the journey from their home in Wakefield to watch a day’s play.

He was 14 the last time they did it for the 2014 Open played over the Hoylake links.

Bradbury was playing off a handicap of three at the time, but dare not even allow himself to dream that one day he would be teeing off in the tournament.

“Every time you saw these guys when you were younger it was about how far they hit it, that was the big thing,” recalls Bradbury.

”All I was thinking was I want to be able to hit it as far as they can.

“When you’re 14 that’s all you care about, hitting it far and spinning it.

“My Dad says that’s all I used to ask, how can I get backspin on the ball?”

“Recently when watching it on TV and whenever I did get to watch the pros live, it was the finesse and the short game that impressed me most.

“But honestly, sitting here now, I can’t remember thinking I could be doing this one day.”

That on Thursday he will tee off in the Open on an even-footing for the briefest of moments with the Rory McIloys of this world, owes much to that mindset, one that focuses on the process instead of fixating on the end-game.

“I knew I could play a bit but I was never one of those kids that’s thought about the end game,” he says. “I’ve always been how do I get better from here, step by step.”

Bradbury’s journey from 14-year-old fan to 23-year-old competitor has followed that mantra.

He started thinking about how he could turn his talents into a living a couple of years later, and under the influence of peers within the England Golf amateur set-up, opted to go to college in America to hone his game; spending four years at Lincoln Memorial in Tennessee and one year at Florida State.

After that, the next step was turning professional, which the Wakefield Golf Club member did a year ago. With two unsuccessful starts to his name by November, those incremental steps suddenly became a huge leap when on a sponsor’s invite to the DP World Tour-opening Joburg Open he went and won the tournament, leading from the first day to the last.

Suddenly Bradbury had gone from not knowing where he was playing the following week to two years secured on the continent’s main circuit and place in the Open for his major debut.

Which brings him to Royal Liverpool, and a 10.42am tee time on Thursday. He arrived in Hoylake on Sunday having driven down from the Scottish Open in Berwick.

Not the best of links players, by his own admission, he had at least played the course twice before this week, in March and earlier this month, in preparation for what he anticipates will be a severe test.

And already the changing wind conditions have outfoxed him.

“I played the back nine Tuesday and it wasn’t the prevailing wind so it played a lot shorter than it normally does,” says Bradbury, who played with fellow Yorkshiremen Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick that day.

“The back nine is along the sea, you’ve got a lot of holes that go right to left, but everything bounces left to right, and the wind’s always left to right, so it’s really hard for me as a fader of the ball because it’s sometimes hard for me to see those shots.

“I was hoping to get out there in the normal wind on Wednesday morning to see what it feels like.

“Because I fade the ball I have to manipulate it a little more than say a Rory who hits a draw; they can stand there and hit their normal shot. I have to be careful.”

The key to success this week, Bradbury tells The Yorkshire Post, will be having a good strategy and sticking to it.

“You could either be aggressive off the tee which has its risks with the rough being juicy and wet, and the bunkers that are like a one-shot penalty straight away because you’ve got to chip out sideways,” observes Bradbury.

“If you want to be aggressive then there are birdie opportunities, but then you’ve got to accept you’re going to hit it in the rough, you’re going to make bogeys.

“Or you hit long-irons off the tee, in some places take the bunkers out of play, but then you leave yourself a lot harder shot in.”

Back in 2006, Tiger Woods predominantly went iron off the tee to take the bunkers out of play and lifted the Claret Jug.

How will Bradbury play it?

“I think I’m going to be a bit more aggressive, just because the amount of times I’ve been defensive and ended up hitting a two-iron in the rough which is criminal, so I’m going to avoid that as much as I can,” he says.

“Obviously I’ll still be sensible but be aggressive where I can. I’m not here just to make the cut or make the numbers up.”