Marc Warren had been down this exact same road before, so he knew exactly what NOT to do.
The 35-year-old Scot was in the world’s Top 50 only 18 months ago, but three years prior to that he didn’t have any playing rights for the European Tour and played in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on a sponsor’s invitation.
He finished fifth that year to regain his card, but this time remembered very well what had happened on the 18th of the Old Course that day as he sought the finish this year that would allow him to stay on Tour.
“I hit a bump and run then which went back in the Valley of Sin and ended up taking bogey,” he recalled ruefully, although that error had no bearing on his quest in the end. “I definitely wasn’t going to play that shot again this time!”
Instead he pitched to five feet and his putt for birdie grabbed the edge and dropped, the Scot falling to his knees in relief as he finished with a sixteen-under aggregate of 272.
It meant fifth place again, a cheque for just under £156,000, doubling his money on tour this year and lifting him from 125th on the Race to Dubai – 15 spots off the cut-off line for retaining his card – to 70th with a decent shot at reaching the Tour’s lucrative Final Series events.
And it all resulted from buying a couple of training aids online using wife Laura’s Amazon account.
“I’d done some work myself last week and taken some video that showed I was a little long on my swing, a bit out of synch,” he said. “I knew of a couple of training aids so I looked them up online, saw how they worked on youtube and bought them using Laura’s account.
“They were £30 each, no more than that, and I just use one in the hotel room and one in the bag for the range.
“I know of another pro, Richard Bland, who uses them and swore by them. It just means I can go on the course and swing without thinking about it knowing that it’ll be okay.”
Warren reached the heights of the world’s top 50 in April 2015 but had fallen as far as 218th going into this week, a combination of poor play and doubts about certain technical elements in his swing that saw him seek out perhaps too many differing opinions.
“The numbers don’t lie, I hadn’t played very well,” he said. “I was looking for the consistency that made me a top 50 player.
“I knew coming into this week that I needed a big finish in the next three events if I was going to make my card safe, but I also knew I’d been down this road before and that this was a tournament and a place I’ve done well at in the past.
“To be able to produce that kind of performance, especially a 67 today with no bogeys with the pressure on, and on what is my favourite course, is very gratifying.”
The hope now is to kick on in the next few events and make the Tour’s three Final Series events with their big prizefunds.
“Having got my card it’s all about getting more good finishes, more Race to Dubai and world ranking points and better starts on the tour next year as a result,” he said.
“It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster but golf is like that. I’ve kept my job, I guess!”
Another Scot, Stirling’s Craig Lee, finished tied for 25th and got his own boost with a £35,000 cheque which takes him inside the top 110 on the Race to Dubai and gives him a base to make his card secure by the season’s end.
