There’s a 50/50 chance this Club Pro will tee it up at The Open…AGAIN!

Gary McNeill relives his memories of playing as a marker at the Open Championship.

He competed in The Open in 2019, and he may have the chance to do it all over again in 2025.

Gary McNeill knew well in advance that he could debut in the Open Championship as a marker in 2019. He genuinely made every effort to sharpen up his game and took time out from his day job to find a quiet corner on the range on the Sunday before the Championship began to hit a few balls. Tiger was out playing a practice round, so no one was paying the slightest bit of attention to McNeill – until another American superstar, Dustin Johnson, set up nearby and started launching drives into the stratosphere.

There’s a picture of the pair hitting shots together, a scenario that was repeated the following weekend when McNeill was called up to play as a marker after the halfway cut fell on an uneven number of players.

“Typically, it falls on the club professional to fill in when an odd number of players make the cut,” says the 55-year-old. “The R&A approached me just before Christmas and asked me if I would do it, and I jumped at the opportunity, but as the week wore on, I wasn’t sure if I had made the right decision.”

In his defence, it was reasonable to have doubts. His last competitive round came almost a month earlier at an Open qualifier in Baltray. In a field of 115, he finished tied for 88th, posting a six-over 78. Maybe not ideal in terms of confidence building, but a rare chance to play with something on the line. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop him from struggling to take the club back after his name was called out on the first tee.

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“It was terrifying, to be honest,” admits McNeill, who was paired with Paul Waring that morning. “It was a 9.30 am start on Saturday, and there were a heck of a lot of people already there. I hit the ball quite well when I went down for my warm-up and felt OK on the first tee, but as soon as I took my club back, it felt foreign. It went a bit low and left off the heel, but after that, I drove the ball really well and didn’t miss many fairways.”

Though he didn’t keep an official score, the general consensus was that he broke 80. He even drew one of the loudest roars of the day with a 45-foot birdie putt across the 17th green that brought the double grandstand to its feet.

“The support out there was unbelievable,” he recalls. “There was a huge double grandstand along 17 and 13 on both sides of the greens, and they were both full. I was very much aware of that as I played the 13th, the par 3 down the hill, and then we went around the loop and came back to the 17th. The pin was on the right-hand side, and my second shot was just about on the green on the left. I was trying to roll it close, and it managed to fall in. It was unbelievable. A fantastic experience – it made it on to the live feed!”

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McNeill got to do it all over again on Sunday, this time in the company of another Englishman, Ashton Turner. With his nerves now settled, he managed to break 80 again. Not that anyone was counting.

There’s a 50/50 chance the R&A will need someone to step in again this year, and McNeill has already offered his services in the hope of reprising the role.

“It’s a very special thing to do,” he smiles. “I’ve put myself forward to do it again, but if it doesn’t happen, at least I’ve got the memories of 2019, because it was a really wonderful experience. I think that by the time it comes back here again, I’ll probably be a bit too old, so this is probably my last chance. I’ve had to get the clubs out again in preparation, and I’ve been playing in the members’ hat on a Wednesday afternoon, just to try to keep my hand in. So, let’s see. If it comes around, I’ll give it one last shot.”