The golfer came close to joining Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy as the only players to have won the amateur tournament and the Claret Jug and though he admitted at the time that he was “gutted” not to have claimed victory, he’s philosophical now and thinks it has improved his game.

He explained to Bunkered magazine: “It was huge actually. What I learned at The Open was that I can still do it, that I still have the ability to show up when it matters most.

“That, in turn, gives me motivation to know the hard work is worth it.

“I think if you’re seeing no reward and you don’t really know if you can win, then the hard work becomes very difficult to do and difficult to sustain each day.

“So, I’m very motivated by that close call at The Open.

“I’m motivated this year and I still believe the dream’s out there.

“And that’s important to have the extra bit of motivation and inspiration going forward.”

The 44-year-old sportsman loves the excitement of playing in big events.

He said: “Major championships are where it’s at.

“You get that adrenaline pumping and they really get your juices going.

“They’re the kind of events that, so long as it’s not going to be silly under par, then you have that freedom to be able to work your way into the tournament.

“You don’t need to be six-under through the first 10 holes to feel like you’re in the tournament.”