BLAKE Windred was teeing up alongside a handful of fellow Hunter professionals at Charlestown Golf Club on Saturday afternoons to feed his competitive edge three months ago.
Now the 23-year-old is in Europe and gunning for a place in the 149th Open Championship at Royal St George's in less than a fortnight.
Windred shares the lead after a rain-delayed opening round of the Kaskada Golf Challenge in the Czech Republic.
The winner of the European Challenge Tour event and next week's event in France, the LeVaudreuil Challenge, earn an invite to The Open at the Sandwich links layout from July 15-18.
Windred posted a bogey-free round of 65, including a final-hole birdie, in Brno to sit top of the leaderboard alongside local Stanislav Matus and South Africa JC Ritchie, before play was suspended due to lightning.
"I rolled a few putts in but in saying that, I gave myself a lot of opportunities, and I was able to make six of them, so I'm pretty pleased," Windred told Challenge Tour media.
"It's a difficult course. If you miss a few tee shots, it can cost you a few shots. The plan is to just stay aggressive. There are a few tee shots where you just have to smoke a driver down the middle and aim up.
"I feel like my game has been trending the last couple of weeks, that's for sure, and having no bogeys out there definitely helps.
"I have been in this position (leader after round one) many times before. It's the end of the fist quarter. It's good to know I have a good round in the bank."
Play was held up for almost two hours due to bad weather and Windred used his time to relax and refuel.
"It was a couple of hours' delay and I just got some Netflix in, a bite to eat and then wheeled back out there. I didn't think it was too bad. I'm watching The Hundred on Netflix at the moment. "
Before taking a punt on the European second-tier tour, where he had seven invites, in May, Windred had played limited tournaments due to the impact of COVID on the Australian tour.
He and a host of local mates would take each other on at Charlestown.
Windred's bright start in the Czech Republic followed a career-best runner-up in the Challenge de Espana. a fortnight a go.
After playing six straight events, the rookie stayed in Spain to recover and work on his game, skipping the event in France last week.
"I was really pleased with that result," he said. "I played some really good golf. It's allowed me to have a few more opportunities on this tour. I just want to make the most of my time here."
