He may not have bloomed at Royal Birkdale quite as vibrantly as Justin Rose, or sprouted as high up the leaderboard as Chris Wood.
But Silver Medal winner for highest-placed amateur at The Open, Ashley Plant, has put down solid roots to make his name in the professional game.
Rose and Wood turned pro on the back of their Birkdale heroics and 25-year-old Plant will do likewise in September – ideally after playing in the Walker Cup.
Plant, whose 73 left him on six over par for the championship, said: “I don’t think there is any set timeframe out there. You have to go when you’re ready and go when you’ve got some good results behind you.
“At 25, you know, we’ve taken our time. I’ve enjoyed the journey along the way. And I think it’s definitely going to be a good journey going forward, 100%.
“I’ve had a lot of experience over the years. This is definitely going to be right up there. But you go when you’re ready. And my time’s now. And I can’t argue with that. I’ve just got to go with it.”
Birkdale will be a quieter place for the departure of Plant and, more specifically, his friends and family who have travelled up from London and followed him over 72 holes decked out in their Team Alfie T-shirts.
Football-style chants aren’t the norm in front of the famous art deco clubhouse.
“At first you get a bit embarrassed,” Plant admitted. “But it’s absolutely taken off this week, and hats off to my dad. It’s been great. I’ve been getting so much support. And I think it’s really made the tournament great for me.”
Had he been a pro, Plant would have been paid around £20,000 for his week’s work. Amateurs, of course, get nothing.
So, where would the money have gone if he’d been allowed to keep it?
“If you ask my girlfriend, she’d definitely say a ring,” he joked. “It will have to be a Haribo ring!”
It hasn’t been all joy for Plant’s family this week, with Alfie returning home for his great grandmother’s funeral tomorrow.
“Nans and grandparents are always on your mind when you lose them,” he said. “If you think about it too much, you’re going to start crying out there.
“I tried to put it to the back of my mind, as best as possible. She was definitely with me this week.”
