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"Winning has been surreal - I'm completely ecstatic"

Background
Age: 26
Handicap: 14
Home club: Leatherhead
Occupation: Project manager at a construction company
Caddy: Chris Read

Congratulations on lifting the Kent & Southeast Championship title! How does it feel?
I'm completely ecstatic! Winning has been surreal - it didn't sink in for a couple of days. It has been amazing and my cup is sitting on the mantelpiece on the fireplace. I really didn't expect to do as well as i did. I had zero expectations and entered purely for the experience and to enjoy the day.

What made you enter?
I've played with Charlie Lidyard (2009 Amateur Champion) as we're at the same club and that's how I found out about the Trilby Tour. Then I saw it on Sky and entered.

I absolutely played out of my skin - it was the best round of golf I have ever played and to do it on that day was one in a million

Why the London Club?
It was the London Club I really wanted to play at as I watched the European Open the year before. So the chance to play at the very same venue was a complete one off. When the option to choose the clubs went live I was there ready straightaway.

How do you feel about facing the rest of the Trilby Tour's finest at the Finals?
I'm going there with an open mind and hopefully won't disgrace myself on the day. I'll take it as it comes and enjoy it.

How do you feel you played on the day?
I played some of the best golf I have ever played, especially on the back 9 - I absolutely played out of my skin. It was the best round of golf I ever played and to do it on that day - to have that one special round there was a one in a million.

How did you handle your nerves?
I was very nervous on the first tee, but i settled down after that. In the play-off I was fairly nervous again but I thought whatever happens happens. I have to say the two guys i played with were a superb laugh. Even though I had a good round it wasn't too serious and afterwards we had a drink together.

I'm going to the finals with an open mind and hopefully won't disgrace myself. I'll take it as it comes and enjoy it.

Tell us about your background
I'm a project manager for a construction company. I only took up golf after my football career failed - I used to play for Fulham for five years up until I was 17. Then I started playing golf in the summers and I started getting better. It's only in the last few years that I joined a golf club.

As part of your prize you won a William Hunt suit and a trip to Savile Row - how was that?
It was a brilliant experience! I went up to the William Hunt store in Savile Row and had my suit fitting which I'm wearing at the Finals. It's not somewhere I would normally go but I got treated like royalty.

What's been your overall experience of the Tour?
It has been an absolute fantastic experience for me, the way it was run and the way were looked after. The day was impressively well run and William is such a nice guy. What was nice was that I caddied for the guy who caddied for me at Bearwood Lakes a couple of weeks later. As soon as we walked in he came over and greeted me whereas I thought he would have forgotten about us!

It was a brilliant experience! I went up to the William Hunt store in Savile Row and had my suit fitting which I'm wearing at the Finals.

What has been your greatest achievement so far?
Well, there are many things I would still like to achieve so I can't really answer that just yet! There are so many things I would still like to do and see. One of my ambitions is to go great white shark cage diving one day.

What's your motto in life?
Whatever doesn't kill you can only make you stronger.

Who's your golf hero?
Cabrera who I saw once at Wentworth. What I like about him is that he doesn't take long or overly think about things; he just goes up to the ball and hits it. I like his carefree attitude and the way he is on the golfcourse.

Whatever doesn't kill you can only make you stronger

See full results of the Kent & SE Championship here

 

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