British Open: So, this is what it's like to be a wanted man. For the first time in his professional life, Danny Sugrue doesn't have to do handstands to get noticed. All he's done is play his way into the British Open and, hey presto, people want a piece of him, Philip Reid at Troon reports

New shoes, sir? New adidas top? "It's wear this, wear that, please," remarked the 26-year-old shortly after registering at Royal Troon yesterday. Up to now, he has had to scrimp and save simply to have enough money to play on the mini-tours. Two years ago, Sugrue, a promising amateur, made the decision to turn professional.

"I'd been in a car crash about six months before the season started, a head-on crash. It was a miracle I got out of the thing . . . and although I had a bad season, I thought I'd have a go at Tour school."

The upshot was that he survived all six rounds, but didn't win a full Tour card and even lost status on the Challenge Tour. The second part of pursuing life on the circuit was to prove to be the hardest.

"I didn't have any money, and travelling the world with no money is impossible," he remembers.

The members of Killarney came to the rescue, raising €20,000 to give him a start - "It was huge, I wouldn't have been able to play at all otherwise" - and, for the past two years, he's got 5,000 from the Team Ireland Golf Trust. "A real life saver, they're a great organisation," he said. At least the grants were sufficient to enable him to keep his dream alive if only barely keeping himself afloat. Life on the Challenge Tour, though, was financially unfulfilling. In nine events, he made just €817.

"I didn't have a clue what I was doing. The pros play a different game and I was learning and learning and practising and seeing if it would come right," he recalled.

After losing his status on the Challenge Tour, Sugrue was reduced to playing in the Golden Bear mini-tour in Florida earlier this season, where fledgling professionals pay $1,000 each which makes up the purse. It's not a road to riches. In fact, Sugrue's financial resources were such that, upon returning home to Europe, he could afford to only play in one EuroPro Tour event. "There is a financial situation . . . it's very negative, not very good at all," he agreed.

Yet, like any young professional, living the dream is about chasing those dreams and, this week, he has won a place in the British Open, alongside the crème de la crème of the world's golfers. How did he find the perseverance to keep going?

"You have to believe you're good enough. If I didn't have that belief, if I thought I wasn't good at it, I wouldn't be doing it. You're always hoping for a rub of the green, that somewhere you'll get a bit of a break and this is it for me, to get the chance to play in a major.

"To be honest, I was surprised I played as well as I did in qualifying because I didn't have the sharpness that comes from playing in tournaments. But I played well and didn't make many mistakes. Now, I'm playing in the Open. That's huge. It might be a one-off, who knows, or it might lead on to bigger things.

"I'll just go out to try to play well. If I don't, there's not much I can do. It's crazy, absolutely crazy. Imagine me on the first tee on Thursday? I'll have to get it down the first fairway somehow . . . if I can play well and make the cut, it'll be a bit of comfort for me for the rest of the year. If there is one tournament in your life that you ever wanted to play well in, this is the one!"

Sugrue has been paired with American Zach Johnson and South African Louis Oosthuizen for the first two rounds on Thursday and Friday and, in many ways, his ability to make the field demonstrates the "open" nature of the British Open where, if you play well enough, you can earn a place in the field.

"Who knows, if I play well here, and make the cut, I might get an invite into the Nissan Irish Open . . . it's our home tournament on home soil, and it would be nice if they could help out the young guys."

While Sugrue woke up yesterday morning to the realisation he had secured a place in the Open, another young Irish golfer has had many months to think about playing in his first major. Brian McElhinney secured his place in the field by winning the European Amateur Strokeplay Championship and, in his short career, has demonstrated an ability to claim titles. He is also the Irish Close champion, having won the title at Donegal last month.

Last month he also paid a flying visit to Troon with PJ Crossan, the captain at his home club North West, where he got a taste of the course's severity: "It was very windy the day I played it . . . I found it tough and long, and the bunkers are very penalising. You really have to stay away from them."

As for his goal for the week?

"I'm happy with my game, I'm hitting it grand. There's definitely room for improvement but I suppose that's the way you always look at it. It would be brilliant for me to make the cut, but I'm looking to enjoy the experience and to do as well as I can. Down the road, I'd like to make the Walker Cup team next year (in Chicago) but that's a long way away yet."

If McElhinney was a touch star-struck about the whole experience yesterday, he could only imagine what he would feel like come Thursday when he will tee-up alongside last year's US Open champion Jim Furyk and European Ryder Cup hopeful Fredrik Jacobson.

"This is all new for me," remarked the Donegal man. In his career so far, though, McElhinney has demonstrated an ability to deal with all situations . . . this just happens to be his biggest test yet.