Earlier this month he played at West Surrey in a Surrey PGA event and managed to secure a tied first position with fellow professional A Raitt from St Georges Hill.

He secured a score of 65 – five under par – thanks to a strong finish, securing five birdies in the last six holes.

On Sunday he played in the Hayling Island Pro-Am and shot a five-under-par 66 for another tied first position – this time with Lee-on-Solent's James Abblett.

Hayling is a narrow, tight and bouncy course and Nick paid tribute to his wife Yvette, who was caddying for him and made sure the woods stayed in the bag.

The irons helped him gain a lot of good positions around the course.

Nick also paid tribute to Petersfield professional Greg Hughes, who has been helping him with some swing changes over the last few weeks.

He is now focusing his attention on qualifying for the British Open this week.

His preparation started at a 54 hole South Region PGA event at Lindfield before he was due to take part in Open qualifying today at Effingham.

The top 10 per cent in the field will qualify for the local final qualifying in a couple of weeks time.

Nick said: "I have managed to get through the first round of regional qualifying in three of the four years I have taken part but never made it through all the way to my ultimate goal of one day playing in the Open.

"My confidence is high and my game in good shape so I will play my heart out to try and fulfill my destiny."