Volunteer marshal meets world number one and golfing heroes as The Open comes to Royal Troon
He also revealed who he's backing to win the Claret Jug
Last updated 16th Jul 2024
A golf fan has hit a lucky shot as he managed to snap a selfie with the sport’s world number one, Scottie Sheffler and other stars ahead of The Open at Royal Troon.
Tom Lanigan, from Newton Mearns, is one of 1,300 volunteer marshals at the competition which takes place from 14-21 July 2024 at the famous links course.
The competition is the 152nd Open and the 10th one to be held at Troon and will see the world’s best golfers battling to lift The Claret Jug.
Star spotting at Royal Troon
Tom explained how he got to share the green with the world’s best. He said: “Yesterday we got very close to the players because it was a practice day.
“It was a lovely clear day down in Troon and I happened to come across, you know, major winners such as Scottie Schaeffler and Jordan Speith.
“Tiger Woods was within a couple of metres of us too!”
Speaking about getting up close with his golf heroes, Tom said: “To meet some of these guys up close to get some personal time and chat with them was amazing.
“Got a couple of selfies and the guys were just so chilled and relaxed. They just seemed so down to earth and proper human beings.”
The players didn’t seem too phased by the occasion yet as Tom described them as ‘chilled out’ and ‘chatty’, especially Scheffler, who he said made it clear of his love of golf in Scotland and his desire to win here.
READ MORE: Tight security at Troon
Tom's rooting for an outsider
However, Tom is rooting for another player to lift the trophy, he said: “I'm really rooting for someone who's down the pecking order, if you like.
“And that is Justin Rose, because I met Justin in 2014 at the Ryder Cup in Gleneagles and he was really chatty, really friendly to my brother Gavin, who was ill at the time and he's a real friendly guy.
“So I'm always rooting for him.”
Tom will be at the competition when it starts at the weekend and can’t wait to be back on the greens. He said: “It's going to be a great week.
“The tournament starts off on Thursday for real and this is building up to be, in fact, it is going to be the biggest Open they've ever had.
“They're expecting 277,000 fans through the doors in the four days.
“It really is something really special.”