Aaron Rai: Wolverhampton golfer heads to Royal Troon in great form

Rai, once best known for being one of the rare few to wear two gloves on course in all weathers will tee off fairly early on Thursday morning on the Ayrshire coast in the company of a man also known for his fashion sense, 1995 champion John Daly.

It is all a big step forward for the British Asian first introduced to the game by his dad Amrik, who like his mother Dalvir, was not a golfer.

The first club he ever practised with was his elder brother’s hockey stick.

Then his parents, who still live in nearby Perton, on the north side of Wolverhampton, discovered 3 Hammers, just up the A449.

“We have always had an open-door policy,” said Bonser. “Without the restrictions you have at some other clubs.

“We can now count 30 kids who started with us who have gone on to become pros, including Andy Proudman and Piers Ward, who started their ‘Me And My Golf’ website and have now moved out to California and are doing very well. Aaron still goes to see them to work on his game. And that is what sets him apart.