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JAPAN

When Shaun Norris tees up in his seventh Open Championship at Royal Birkdale he will do so with the presence of his late father in every swing

BY MICHAEL VLISMAS 

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When Shaun Norris tees it up in the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale this July, it will be an emotional moment for him. The last time he played The Open at Birkdale in 2017 was also the last time he was able to have his father, Patrick, with him for such a momentous occasion. His father passed away three years later.


And that's why the single biggest goal Norris had for himself this year was to qualify for this Open, which he did with his victory in the Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open on the Japan Golf Tour in May.


'Birkdale has a special place in my heart. It was the first and last time I could take my dad with me to a Major when it was played there last. So it's going to be a special week for me. That was the last time my dad was able to travel with me. It was just nice to have him there because he was the one who started us in the game. Being able to make it in golf at the highest level and try and qualify for Majors, and have him be there for it, was the special part for me. It's going to be a little more emotional, but I'm looking forward to it,' says Norris.

The impact his father has had on him translates into everything Norris is as a golfer and a father himself. To the extent that Norris plays this game less for himself and more for his family.


'Absolutely. I'd like to be able to give my kids all the opportunities I can. My parents couldn't always give us everything we wanted when we were young in terms of playing The Amateur overseas and so on because it was too expensive for them.'


And it perhaps also explains why Norris has taken a different route with his career.

Rather than focus on the familiar pathway to the DP World Tour and PGA Tour, Norris has gone East to the Japan Golf Tour. With his nine victories there in the past decade, he has not only carved out a lucrative living for himself, but he also holds the record as the South African golfer with the most victories on this tour.


'It's a great honour to have that record. The Japan Golf Tour is such a well run tour to play on. The courses are phenomenal and it's made me a better golfer over the years. The courses are strong, the fields are strong, and overall I just love it out there. The people are respectful and kind. I love the food. The travelling is very simple once you're there. When you do a three-week trip over there, in between tournaments you're just catching an hour or two-hour bullet train to the next venue. It's simple and easy. They love their golf and the crowds are very respectful of every golfer.

'The Japan Golf Tour is such a well run tour to play on. The courses are phenomenal and it's made me a better golfer over the years'

'I tried the traditional pathways to Europe and so on, but at the end of the day I needed to find a way that worked for me and my golf. Somehow it worked out that winning the Myanmar Open in 2016 qualified me for a card on the Japan Golf Tour, and a friend of mine told me to take up the membership and that I wouldn't regret it. I did that. It's been a decade now that I've been out there. It's honestly made me a stronger golfer.'

There is no doubt that the Japan Golf Tour does represent a sense of destiny in Norris's life. It's as if his career is coming full circle this year.


His second victory on the Japan Golf Tour in 2017 – in the Japan Golf Tour Championship – earned him a place in The Open that year at Birkdale, and which was also his first Major appearance.


Only a few years before this, Norris had thought of walking away from golf. His father had already been diagnosed with cancer, and he'd put his golf aside in order to spend more time at home helping to care for him.


It was when his dad started to respond better to the treatment and he said to his son, 'When are you going to start practising again?' that Norris turned his focus back to golf.


Birkdale in 2017 was a moment they could all savour together, with Norris's brother Kyle also on the bag for him that week.


So this year may be the seventh Open Norris is playing in. But in a way it's also a beginning as the man who chased his golf to the Far East will also remember how the sun once rose on him and his dad on the links fairways of Birkdale in their proudest moment together.

CARL FOURIE | TYRONE WINFIELD | EJ LANGNER | SUNSHINE TOUR