On Tuesday, hundreds of players at four different venues in Britain attempted to qualify for The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in two weeks’ time.
The Open returns to Royal Portrush for the first time since Shane Lowry won back in 2019.
Portrush has been described as a ‘diabolically’ difficult golf course ahead of The Open by Bryson DeChambeau, and the masterpiece just north-west of Belfast in Northern Ireland will undoubtedly represent a stern test for the best golfers in the world.
And there will be plenty of journeymen professionals and amateurs teeing it up at Portrush as well.
That’s the beauty of The Open, anyone with a handicap of 0.4 or better can attempt to qualify.
And one man made history at West Lancashire Golf Club on Tuesday.
Richard Teder will be the first man from Estonia to ever play at The Open
What a magical day it was for Richard Teder in the north-west of England on Tuesday.
Lucas Herbert, Sampson Zheng and George Bloor secured the top three qualifying spots for The Open.
Photo by Richard Martin-Roberts/R&A/R&A via Getty Images
Meanwhile, four players finished a shot back of Bloor and were subsequently forced to partake in a four-way play-off for the two remaining spots.
And Teder produced a little bit of magic by holing out for an eagle on the first play-off hole.
In doing so, the 20-year-old became the first ever man from Estonia to qualify for The Open.
What an achievement that is for Teder, and he will have the entire country of Estonia behind him at Royal Portrush later this month.
Here is Teder’s hole out for the eagle on the first play-off hole at West Lancashire Golf Club:
Everything you need to know about Richard Teder
The Estonian is currently the 93rd best ranked amateur golfer in the world.
He has three recognised wins to his name on the amateur circuit, with two of them coming in Estonia and one in Latvia.
Teder recently finished fifth in the English Amateur Championship, and has nine top-10 finishes to his name over the past 18 months.
He is highly inexperienced, so the mere fact that he has qualified for The Open Championship was a real shock.
Now it will be really interesting to see how Teder performs at The Open at Royal Portrush in two weeks’ time.