Ted Potter Jr. nervous ahead of the British Open
On another typical Sunday at the Greenbrier Classic this year, where mayhem, stress and а few miracles matched the frequency of the roars, a self trained lefty from Ocala, Florida, ended up as the winner.
Ted Potter Jr., a man of deep faith who never had a professional golf lesson by a professional teacher, defeated Troy Kelly on the third extra hole of a playoff to record a victory after five missed cuts in a row.
Bursting into tears after tapping in the winning putt from four feet, Potter won his first PGA Tour title with a special feeling, as it happened during his rookie year.
It also booked his berth at this year’s British Open at the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, slated to start from July 19, 2012.
After blasting the balls down the practice range at links course on Wednesday, he looked a little nervous because of the toughness of the competition.
Potter missed a total of nine cuts in 15 events on the PGA Tour this year prior to outshining his opponents at The Old White TPC in White Sulphur Springs.
"Winning at the Greenbrier helped me feel more relaxed out here. I feel like I belong more," the world number 85 said.
"My confidence skyrocketed. I had been struggling the last couple of months with my game but a couple of weeks ago my swing started falling into place, like it was last year on the (second tier) Nationwide Tour".
Potter had to go through really difficult times before coming to The Open Championship, as he turned professional in 2002 and missed all the 24 cuts on the 2004 Nationwide Tour.
Therefore, he now has the time to cash all the efforts that he made before reaching such a high stage in the world of golf.
"It's a dream come true to be here at the Open. I never expected to be here this year," Potter said. "It's the first Open I've played in so I don't know what to expect but I'll just try and enjoy it".
He is now scheduled to tee off at 3:49 pm local time for the opening round on Thursday.
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