TOM SLOMAN QUALIFIES FOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 25 YEARS AFTER ATTENDING AS FAN

Tom Sloman will make his major tournament debut at The Open Championship, which begins on Thursday at Royal Birkdale in Southport. The 30-year-old from Taunton qualified by winning at Ferndown Golf Club, then finishing joint-third at his home course Burnham and Berrow with a score of eight under par across two rounds. Sloman will play his opening two rounds alongside New Zealander Kazuma Kobori and Irish amateur David Howard, with the group teeing off at 10:42 BST on Thursday.

Sloman turned professional after representing England and Ireland in the 2019 Walker Cup. He began playing golf aged four at a local course in Taunton, where his father introduced him to the game. His only previous attendance at The Open came 25 years earlier, when he attended the 2001 championship at Enmore Golf Club to watch a family friend compete.

Sloman qualified for the championship at the end of June in a tense final round, shooting 65 to secure one of the remaining spots. He described the moment after his qualification as nerve-racking, stating he received approximately 90 text messages from people offering congratulations. Speaking to BBC Radio Somerset, Sloman said he was not attending the event "just to make up the numbers", indicating his ambitions for the tournament.