Wigan-born David Lynn is living the dream, after an opening round of 68 at Augusta put him right in the mix on his Masters debut.
The self-proclaimed ‘general prankster’ was all smiles when he came off the course yesterday, following six birdies, and now sits tied for third.
But he insisted, despite the dream start, the hard work begins now and staying near the top of the leaderboard is a bigger challenge than getting there.
“I have been a pro for 15 to 16 years so it has taken me a golfing lifetime to get here,” said the 39-year-old.
“I was on the 9th and said to my caddie: ‘We’re leading the Masters.’ He just smiled. I would rather be in that position on Sunday afternoon.
“It is not a bad thing to lead the Masters – it is something to always look back on. But hopefully I can keep my name up there.”
Lynn joined the PGA tour this season, following a breakthrough display at last year’s PGA Championship at Kiawah.
In just his second major tournament appearance – this week is his third – the world number 53 finished runner-up to Rory McIlroy, after a weekend of consecutive rounds of 68.
And he is confident that performance on the biggest stage has put him in a good position to maintain his early challenge at Augusta.
“It is like I have started my career again,” Lynn said. “I’m enjoying what the PGA Tour has to offer. It has definitely given me a new lease of life.
“When I’m on my game I know I can compete on this sort of level.
“What happened at Kiawah confirmed that to myself. It gave me extra belief.
“Although McIlroy ran away with it, I was in an environment that I had not been in before and it gives you confidence.”
The Wigan Athletic supporter will be looking to chase down leaders Marc Leishman and Sergio Garcia, while holding off the inevitable charge from the likes of Tiger Woods and McIlroy.
He will go about doing that in his own jovial style – as his Twitter bio points out, Lynn ‘will probably never grow up’.
And he signed off last night with a tweet to his 10,000 followers: “Thanks for all your kind words and follows guys, now pee off and leave me alone haha #onlyjoking your all legends.”
Image courtesy of TheTourPlayers, via YouTube, with thanks.
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