By Bob Harig in Portrush, Northern Ireland
The trip to golf’s oldest championship involved stops in two other countries before Justin Hastings arrived in Northern Ireland last Friday, to prepare for his third major championship in a surreal year that still has him talking about the dream-like scenario he is living.
Along the way, of course, there was the usual angst concerning the arrival of golf clubs, which can be especially ulcer-inducing when travelling through London’s Heathrow Airport.
The number of lost clubs in the bowels of that place can be staggering, and after some tense moments of wonder, the belongings of Hastings’ small entourage made their way to this tiny country that is roughly the size of Connecticut and boasts fewer than 2 million residents. While that is obviously quite a bit bigger than Grand Cayman, where Hastings grew up with just a single 18-hole golf course, there are some parallels.
While a golfer from the Cayman Islands might never be expected to play in one major championship – let alone three – a golfer from Northern Ireland might never be expected to win one of those major championships, as three from here have done.
Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy and Darren Clark helped solidify the area as a golf destination, winning three majors over 13 months in 2010 and 2011, helping pave the way for The Open Championship to return in 2019 to what seemed an impossible venue. It had been last played here in 1951, when the world was a far different place.
And when it did return, the Open was so successful that organisers decided to bring it back again just six years later.
‘Life-changing’ journey to The Open
Hastings, 21, is in the field due to his Latin American Amateur Championship victory in January, one that came with the most remarkable of perks: spots in the Masters, US Open and The Open.
He missed the cut at the Masters, but then earned low amateur honours last month at Oakmont Country Club, the only amateur to make the US Open cut. He took part in the prize-giving ceremony on the 18th green afterward, along with US Open champion J.J. Spaun, who also happened to attend San Diego State, where Hastings recently finished up his academic degree.
“It’s been life-changing,” Hastings said during a practice round at Royal Portrush, where by Monday he had seen all of the course with a new caddie for the week, Tom Ridley, a veteran of the DP World Tour (European Tour).
Ridley, who most recently worked for Denmark’s Frederik Kjettrup on the LIV Golf League, caddied for Englishman Andy Sullivan at Royal Portrush during the 2019 Open. He has also worked in the past for Matt Fitzpatrick, the 2022 US Open champion. Hastings has used local caddies at each of the first two majors.
“It’s worked at the first two events,” Hastings said. “I’ve had amazing caddies. Gotten lucky with that. Keep the ball rolling and use the connections we’ve built. It should be great.”
Adjusting to links golf
Part of the challenge in getting ready this week is acclimating to links golf, a style of play that is unique to this part of the world, mostly. The sandy-based courses are firm and fast and the game is often played much more along the ground than, say, PGA Tour golf in the United States.
While players of Hastings’ calibre are accustomed to firm greens – and certainly the wind in Grand Cayman – the ground game and learning to keep the ball lower and often short of the putting surfaces is a unique aspect.
“It’s definitely an adjustment,” Hastings said. “I’m used to wind in Cayman, but this is more about the firmness and getting used to the bounce and hitting them (approaches) short. That’s not so much the case in Cayman.”
Hastings does have some experience at links golf and even at Royal Portrush. In 2018, he played in the British Boys championship here and also played some other courses in Scotland in conjunction with the Eisenhower Cup amateur competition. Included were gems Kingsbarns and the New Course (not Old) at St Andrews.
Since the US Open, Hastings has spent the majority of this time on island before departing last Thursday for the United Kingdom.
Along the way, he was welcomed in a ceremony at the Owen Roberts International Airport. “It was cool,” he said. “It is one of the cool things about being from such a small place. The whole country is behind you and everybody kinda knows how you’re doing. I always come off the golf course to a lot of texts and people saying nice things.”
While home, Hastings worked on his game with his coach at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club and also played several rounds at the North Sound Golf Club.
But nothing could approximate being here, and Hastings got a sampling of the Open weather, with warm temperatures on the weekend followed by a mixture of rainy, blustery conditions leading up to the championship.
With a pro career imminent, Hastings has little to lose this week. He’s grouped for the first two rounds with 2022 Open champion Cam Smith and Marco Penge, starting play at 6:57am local time on Thursday (12:57am in Cayman). They play round two at 11:58am (5:58am Cayman time) on Friday.
“It’s the last week before I turn pro,” he said. “We’re going to have a lot of fun. Keep expectations low, like we always do. I mean, there’s definitely a lot of reasons to have a good week. I’ve proved to myself that we’re capable. We want to have fun but at the same time they are some goals to reach, too.”
