While playing at The Open is not unchartered territory for Joe Dean, it is fair to say the perseverance he has shown amid a series of personal struggles makes his return to one of golf’s biggest stages after a seven-year gap particularly rewarding.
Back in 2017, a year after turning professional, the Englishman came through qualifying to make his Major Championship bow at Royal Birkdale. While his result – tied 70th – was unspectacular, the 2015 English Amateur champion would have been forgiven for thinking he wouldn’t have to wait quite so long to be back among the game’s elite.
Dean has since played on many of the development Tours, but his love of the game dwindled following a tough season on the European Challenge Tour in 2019 and as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Now, ranked 254th on the Official World Golf Ranking, Dean will go under the radar at Royal Troon amid the inevitable focus on the likes of Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm.
But he’s fine with that. In fact, he’s just happy to be sharing their company. After all, earlier this year he was still working part time as a delivery driver for UK supermarket Morrisons.
“It definitely doesn’t disappoint,” he tells the DP World Tour ahead of The 152nd Open from Royal Troon.
“I feel I've got a better understanding of what works for me as a professional golfer. It's not as nerve wracking. I’ve been here before and know what to expect.
“But you’ve got the best players in the world here. You’re just trying to see how you compare in relation to those guys. If I play the right golf I’ll be here at the weekend, and who knows I might yet be near the top few groups.”
Dean was playing two-round tournaments last year, when he came through all three stages of the Qualifying School to earn himself a maiden season on the DP World Tour.
Yet, when he finished tied second at the Magical Kenya Open in February he was making just his second appearance of the campaign – three months after it had begun. A lack of funds meant he was unable to truly capitalise on a breakthrough in his career.
However, after equalling his best performance of the season at last week’s KLM Open in the Netherlands - a result which secured his Open qualification - he has made more than £500,000 and climbed to 37th in the DP World Tour’s season-long Race to Dubai Rankings.
Putting the financial struggles aside, he was also worried about getting on a plane – an issue that first arose following the loss of a pet shortly before he turned professional.
“I was travelling to an England camp in Portugal, and it triggered something in me," he recalls. "Every time a flight was mentioned after that it was almost panic stations and pretty much mental breakdowns.
“It got to the stage when my fiancée Emily was the only person who could make me travel on a plane.”
When you play an international schedule that demands regular travel that’s a problem. Dean knew it and turned to a hypnotherapist to help him, something that was helped by his performances on the 2020 Pro Golf Tour.
“Gaining my card was a very mixed bag of emotions," he says. "In one respect, I had realised everything I wanted to do as a kid but at the same time I wondered how I was going to do it.
"One of the perks of being the Order of Merit winner on the 2022 Pro Tour was that you got 12 sessions with a hypnotherapist.
“I knew a few people who had done hypnotherapy and I thought I had nothing to lose. I knew a few people who had done it and spoke wonders about it.
“We’ve done some work together and it seems to have helped a lot. Don’t me wrong, I don’t think I will ever enjoy the travel, but it has helped me cope with it.”
There was no need for any flights to be booked this week. After a five-hour drive from Sheffield on Monday, Dean was straight into preparation on the Ayrshire links of Royal Troon.
While he has only played nine holes on each of the opening two practice days, one thing is clear: avoid the bunkers.
Many of the field have also remarked the layout is a tale of two nines, with the wind direction determining which is more scoreable.
“I think it's just knowing your limits and accepting that quite a lot of time middle of the green isn't a bad spot,” he says.
Amid his newfound success in recent months, Dean has done so with a rather uncommon tactic. Last month, while in contention to win the KLM Open, Dean revealed he doesn’t go to the range before competitive rounds, instead preferring to conserve energy.
I do my injury prevention so it’s not as if I am literally getting out of the car and rocking up on the first tee
While he accepts it’s a method that is unlikely to be widespread among the field this week, he does it for the betterment of his own game.
“Some people will think it is a negative mindset, but I do what is right for me," he explains. "I do my injury prevention so it’s not as if I am literally getting out of the car and rocking up on the first tee.
“At the end of the day, if you are trying to grind something out of your game before going out and playing the odds are you are not going to play well.”
While the odds might be high on Dean claiming the Claret Jug this week, he goes into the week with a belief that he belongs in such elite company.
