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Callan Barrow knows all about how selection to an elite sports team can have a massive boost on an athlete’s psyche. Making England Golf’s “A” team may have been the intangible that helped land him his first big win.
The Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club member is the new Scottish Men’s Open Championship winner after a three-shot victory at Southerness Golf Club. It’s his first piece of major silverware, a trophy that includes the names of fellow Englishmen Andy Sullivan and Tommy Fleetwood.
Sullivan and Fleetwood have parlayed that success into European Tour wins and Ryder Cup appearances.
“I wouldn’t mind doing what they’re doing now,” Barrow said.
The win was validation for a player who’s made steady progress through the amateur ranks in the past few years. Barrow finished runner-up in last year’s English Amateur with a 4-and-3 loss to Jack Cope at Woodhall Spa. He also reached the quarter-finals of the Amateur Championship at Royal Birkdale. Those results came as no surprise.
“I was playing well last year before COVID stopped competitive play,” he said. “I went to Australia at the start of the season and had three top-20 finishes in big tournaments, so I was trending in the right direction. Then we had that long layoff because of COVID. Like many, I wondered if I’d be able to perform to the same level after the layoff.
“I worked hard during the time off, spent a lot of time on my swing and working on my short game. Thankfully my game was still good when I came back, and I just carried on as before. Although the Scottish was the first big tournament of the year, I felt confident over the four rounds. It was one of those weeks where everything went right, and the putter was hot.
“Obviously getting picked for the England ‘A’ team at the end of last year was a big deal. I grew up playing on football teams, so I know what it’s like to compete for places and the competitive environment teams create. The (England) team has a great bunch of lads and we all get on well. We’re all competitive and that helps me and every other player on the team. You look at other players doing well, and you know on your day you can perform just as well as them. That gives you confidence to go out and try to do well too.
“Being a member of the squad means a chance to travel, and more opportunities to play in big tournaments against the best opposition. That’s a huge help. The set-up at Woodhall Spa is fantastic. The coaching and squad sessions are very professional. (England coach) Graham Walker has helped me a lot with my short game, and that showed last week.”
“I’m a bit of a late bloomer in golf because I spent so much time playing football. I wasn’t really good enough at the time to consider a golf scholarship in America like a lot of others, but I’ve worked hard and have just kept on improving every year.”
Callan Barrow
Barrow is used to playing in elite teams. He did so as a teenager in football when he was in the same Manchester United youth team as England international Marcus Rashford. However, Barrow’s dream of playing in the same starting 11 as Rashford ended when he was released from United at age 15.
“I went to Preston (North End) and that was maybe a mistake because things didn’t work out well there,” he said.
That’s when he turned to his competing love: golf.
“I could have gone to other football teams and tried to work my way through the leagues, but I’ve always loved golf,” Barrow said. “My dad plays the game, and he was a big influence on me in deciding to give golf a go.
But not before having a back-up plan should his dream of playing on the European Tour not come to fruition. Barrow earned a BTEC diploma in golf studies from Myerscough College in his native Lancashire after his football dream died.
“If things don’t work out then I feel as if I’ve got something to fall back on within the game,” he said.
That’s on the back burner. His main focus this year is honing his game in the amateur tournaments that really matter.
“Last week was a great win but I’ve still got a lot to learn,” Barrow said. “I’m just going to get my head down, work hard and see what the game brings.”
At 23, he wants to take advantage of everything England Golf has to offer to try his hand at the European Tour Qualifying School at the end of the year, and try to follow in Sullivan’s and Fleetwood’s footsteps.
Who knows, there may come a time when Marcus Rashford will one day say: “I played on the same youth football team as Callan Barrow.”
Top: Callan Barrow reached the quarter-finals of the 2020 Amateur Championship and broke through at the recent Scottish Men's Open Championship.
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