It may have taken Dale Whitnell a decade to establish himself on the European Tour but the local favourite revealed he would do it all again after making a bright start at the 2021 Cazoo Classic.
The 33-year-old was part of Great Britain and Ireland's 2009 Walker Cup side and later that year he turned professional and finished in the top five at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in just his third European Tour event.
But it would be over a decade before he would match that result after finally gaining his playing privileges at the 2019 Qualifying School.
After playing just 14 European Tour events between 2009 and 2019, this week is his 53rd appearance and the 2021 Race to Dubai has brought his Rolex Series debut at the abrdn Scottish Open and his biggest payday after matching his career best finish with a tie for fourth at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.
He won the 2019 KPMG Trophy on the European Challenge Tour but after an opening 66 at London Golf Club, the Englishman is determined to stay in contention for a maiden European Tour win.
Amazing week at the @DDFIrishOpen on the @EuropeanTour
— Dale Whitnell (@Dale_Whitnell) July 5, 2021
3rd reserve on Tuesday morning. In by lunchtime.. No practice round and finish tied 4th. Best result of the season 🎢 🤷♂️
Great to have fans back🙌🙌🙌@CallawayGolfEU @WorldinMotion_ @CrondonGCStatus @ApparelCallaway pic.twitter.com/SUfSOOZw9n
"It took me ten years to get to the European Tour after turning professional and I’d do it all over again, even though there was a lot of heartache and pain in there," he said.
"But I feel I’m in a good place, I just had to grind away and I managed to get to where I want to be and now I’ve got to keep pushing.
“I feel I’m good enough to be here and now it’s just a case of putting myself into my contention, the more times you can do that the better you will be able to deal with it and hopefully this week’s no different.”
Whitnell bogeyed the second early in his round but responded with three birdies to turn in 34 and picked up another four on the back nine to get to six under.
It took me ten years to get to the European Tour after turning professional and I’d do it all over again
He was born around 60 miles from this week's venue over the River Thames in Essex and enjoyed playing with two more Englishmen in Steven Tiley and Ross McGowan.
“It was pretty good," he said. "I had a bad tee shot on the second and made a bogey early on but it was a pretty productive last 16 holes with seven birdies and no bogeys, which is nice.
“I had some good company today with a couple of boys with me who are pretty local to the area like me, so it was nice.
“Obviously it’s nice playing in the UK, it’s where I’m comfortable I guess and I’m fortunate to stay at home this week, so it’s nice to sleep in my own bed. Home comforts are great and the game feels in great shape."
