Matthew Wood
Playing in the British Open is not unknown territory for Joe Dean, but the perseverance he has shown through a series of personal hardships makes his return to one of golf’s biggest stages after a seven-year absence particularly rewarding.
Joe Dean will face Yannick Paul and Andy Ogletree in the first two rounds of the 152nd British Open at Royal Troon.
A year after turning professional, the Englishman qualified and made his first major championship appearance at Royal Birkdale in 2017. Although he finished in an unspectacular 70th place, it’s fair to say the 2015 British Amateur champion would have been forgiven for thinking he wouldn’t have to wait too long to join golf’s elite.
Dean has played on a number of development tours since then, but a tough season on the European Challenge Tour in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic saw his love for golf fade.
Currently ranked 254th in the Official World Golf Rankings, Dean will likely fly under the radar at Royal Troon, with the likes of Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm all attracting attention.
But he’s happy with that – happy to be with them, in fact – after all, earlier this year he started working part-time as a delivery driver for British supermarket Morrisons.
“It certainly doesn’t disappoint,” he told the DP World Tour ahead of the 152nd Open at Royal Troon.
“I feel like I have a better understanding of what’s in it for me as a professional golfer. I’m not as nervous. I’ve been here before so I know what to expect.”
“But the best players in the world are here and I’ll just see how I measure up against them. If I play the right golf I’ll be here at the weekend and maybe even close to the top few.”
Dean played in two rounds of tournaments last year and made it through all three stages of the qualifying school to win his first season on the DP World Tour.
But when he finished tied for second at the Magical Kenya Open in February – his second appearance three months into the season – a lack of funding prevented him from truly capitalising on his career breakthrough.
But he matched his best performance of the season at the KLM Open in the Netherlands last week to qualify for the Open, earning him more than half a million pounds and climbing to 37th in the DP World Tour’s season-long Race to Dubai rankings.
Aside from financial struggles, he was also anxious about flying, an issue that first arose after he lost a pet just before turning pro.
“I was travelling to the England camp in Portugal and it triggered something inside me,” he recalls. “From then on, whenever the mention of flying came up I would panic and it was quite a mental breakdown.
“It got to the point where only my fiancé, Emily, would let me on a plane.”
That’s a problem when you play an international schedule that requires constant travel. Dean understands that and has sought help from a hypnotherapist, something that was helped by his performance on the professional golf tour in 2020.
“I had very mixed emotions when I got the card,” he says. “In a way, it was everything I wanted to do as a kid, but at the same time, I wondered how I was going to make it happen.
“One of the perks of winning the Lifetime Achievement Award on the 2022 Pro Tour was the opportunity to have 12 sessions with a hypnotherapist.
“I figured I had nothing to lose because I knew a few people who had been through hypnotherapy and they all said how amazing it was.
“We’ve been working together and it seems to have been very helpful. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I enjoy traveling, but it’s helped me deal with it.”
There was no need to book a flight this week, and after the five-hour drive from Sheffield to arrive on Monday, Dean wasted no time in getting ready at the Ayrshire Links at Royal Troon.
He’s only played nine holes on each of the first two days of practice, but one thing is clear: avoid the bunkers.
Many of the competitors also pointed out that the course layout is a tale of two nine holes, with the wind direction determining which one is easier to score on.
“I think it’s about knowing your limitations and accepting that the middle of the green is not a bad place,” he says.
Amid his renewed success in recent months, Dean has achieved it with a rather unusual strategy: Last month, while competing for the title at the KLM Open, Dean revealed that he doesn’t hit the practice range before competitive rounds, preferring instead to conserve energy.
I’m on injury prevention, so I’m not literally just going to get out of my car and show up to the first tee.
While he acknowledges it’s unlikely to become widespread on the field this week, he’s doing it to improve his own game.
“Some people might see that as negative thinking, but I’m doing what’s right for me,” he explains. “I’m taking precautions to prevent injury, so I’m not literally jumping out of my car and onto the first tee.
“At the end of the day, if you’re trying to polish something in your game before you go out there, there’s a good chance you’re not going to play well.”
The odds of Dean winning the Claret Jug this week may be long, but he goes into it with the belief that he should be part of that elite group.
