Morten Orum Madsen has burst onto the scene as one of the brightest young players of the 2012 Challenge Tour season, and the Dane is ready to make his mark on the big stage as he prepares for his first Major at The 141st Open Championship this week.
Madsen qualified for The Open by winning the Local Final Qualifier at Southport and Ainsdale, adding gloss to a promising rookie season in which he has regularly been in contention for his maiden Challenge Tour title.
As he heads to Royal Lytham and St Annes, where he will rub shoulders with the game’s greatest players, Madsen admits he will be fulfilling a lifelong dream.
“I don’t even think it has sunk in yet,” said the 24 year old, who comes from the same town as Thomas Björn. “I'm trying to imagine how it’s going to be but I don’t think I can even make it up in my mind.
“When I walk through the gates at Lytham on Monday it’s only going to hit me then – the magnitude of everything. It’s going to be an awesome experience, the experience of a lifetime. I haven’t experienced much yet in my short professional career so it’s definitely going to be the highlight.
“I've been dreaming about it since I was a little kid so I'm just really happy that it has come true.”
Madsen, who is currently 14th in the Challenge Tour Rankings, added: “I'm just going to go there and take it for what it is and try to have fun with it and enjoy the experience. I’ll be going there to play and play well, but I don’t really know what to expect.
“No way did I ever expect to be playing something so big this early in my career. I thought that would be some years down the road, so it’s just a huge bonus and I'm going to take everything I can from it and use it down the line.”
