Carnoustie, Scotland, July 19: Six over par after 10 holes, Singaporean Lam Chih Bing was staring at a big number in his British Open debut on Thursday.
But spurred on by an entourage of 12 family members including his 79-year-old grandmother at chilly Carnoustie, the Asian Tour stalwart battled to a respectable five-over-par 76.
Lam struggled with his nerves on the big stage as he dropped two opening bogeys but he played his last eight holes, considered to be the tougher of the nines, in one-under.
“I just struggled out of the blocks. I was hitting it alright but missed a few short putts early on. I struggled in the first 10 holes, six over par but in the last eight, I managed to get one shot back and I’m quite happy as there were some tough holes out there,” said Lam.
“After 10 holes, it could have ended in the 80s. I found it so tough. I didn’t do anything majorly wrong. This is a really tough course, it’s mentally tiring. We’re grinding.
“If you play conservative like I did to take the big numbers out of the equation, I must have hit like five or six three iron approach shots into the greens. We’re so used to playing driver, eight iron. This is different … it’s a wonderful course despite the score. I’m quite proud with myself.”
Wearing thick mittens to keep his hands warm, the 30-year-old Lam nailed his only birdie at the 15th hole, striking a sweet seven iron approach to three feet of the pin. Soon after, he bravely hung on to negotiate pars over the closing three holes.
“The birdie on 15 was really good. I was wondering when I would get my first birdie in a major,” said Lam. “I was so nervous going out today and dropped shots on those easy holes.”
He knew he couldn’t disappoint his family members who had braved the conditions to watch him in his Major debut. “Twelve relatives were out there, including my 79-year-old grandmother. She’s not watched me play before but my parents told her she had to come out to watch me.”
Lam, only the second Singaporean to qualify for the British Open, reckons he needs to shoot a couple of under par to have a chance of playing in all four rounds, and enjoy the privilege of walking down the 18th fairway on Sunday afternoon.
“I would really want to play all four rounds. I want to walk down 18 hole come Sunday. Whatever it is I will take so much out of this week. I’ll give anything to walk down the 18th hole in the final round,” he said.
