Big Interview: Ashley Chesters goes pro

And as Shropshire's rising golf star prepares for his first professional outing tomorrow, he insists he will not make the same mistakes as the Scot.

After a successful amateur career that has twice seen him crowned European champion, Chesters is making the step up as he looks to compete with the game's elite.

The first rung on the ladder is an invitation to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

It's taking place at Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and St Andrews where, ironically, he caused a sensation with his performance in The Open this summer.

And the 26-year-old, coached by Michael Welch, is working on the theory of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'.

He said: "Michael has given me a few things over the years with help and advice but I'm just going to be doing the same as what I've been doing at amateur level.

"It's just the people I'll be playing with now will be a higher standard. I'm sure when I get out there that there will be things I find that I need to change.

"But otherwise it's still the same old game of golf and trying to get round in the least number of shots possible.

"I've always thought I needed some more length off the tee, but when I played at The Open it wasn't that much of an issue.

"We'll see. I might find when I get out there that I do need a bit more length but I have worked on that over the last few years and it has got better.

"My short game probably needs a bit more work as well, but I won't really know until I get out there what needs working on.

"It's worked up until now so it's not worth ripping that up, that's what David Moyes did at Manchester United.

"He got in there and everything was going pretty good – Alex Ferguson had just won the league – and moved all the backroom staff.

"It's the same sort of thing, it's not really worth going and changing a load of coaches and seeing somebody new. If I was struggling then yes, maybe, but things will stay the same.

"I first started seeing Michael when I was 18 and had come out of the England Boys' squad. I went to see him and since then I've been with him.

"If I need to be told something he'll tell me, but he'll tell you I'd go and do a lot myself and make all the decisions myself.

"He's actually going to caddie for me this week so it will be good having somebody who I know.

"I could have had one of the regular Tour caddies but I wanted somebody I know for the first one or two.

"If something is going wrong with my swing or anything then he will be able to help on that side, which I thought could be helpful."

Chesters' performance at The Open this year proved he has the game to mix it with the best players in the world.

But thoughts at the moment are a long way from challenging the likes of McIlroy and Speith. First, he must go through Tour School and look to win his place on the European Tour.

And the affable Hawkstone Park player, who has come up through the Shropshire & Herefordshire ranks, is clear about what he hopes to achieve.

He added: "I just want to be able to make a living out of golf, however long it takes to get where you need to be to make a living out of the game.

"You never know what can happen in sport. That is my main aim, to make a living out of what I've done for so long and what I enjoy doing. I can't ask for more than that.

"It's one thing turning pro but you've got to go about finding somewhere to play, otherwise it's pretty pointless.

"I've got a couple of starts straight away and then I'll have Tour School and it will be up to me.

"There's only so much you can rely on other people, you have to go out and do it yourself. Hopefully, I'll do well at Tour School and that will take care of itself.

"It's a lot of golf but if you're playing well there's a good reward at the end of it."

While Chesters may be a familar figure to players and spectators around Shropshire, his performance at The Open catapulted him into the national spotlight.

Last year at Hoylake he narrowly failed to make the cut – but it was a different story this time as the amateurs stole the headlines.

Paul Dunne was leading going into the final day and an incredible start to his fourth round saw Chesters putting for a share of the lead.

In the end he came tied 12th, with Jordan Niebrugge finishing 11 under for the tournament and taking the Silver Medal for top amateur.

So, just over two months on, can he believe what he achieved at the 'home of golf?'

Chesters admitted: "It has sunk in. A couple of days later I did think 'bloody hell, I've just finished 12th in The Open' but it's what I want to do.

"It will be nice to get back there as a pro and try to do it again – or even better. It's like starting from scratch again now, all the amateur stuff is in the past.

"None of the pros will care what somebody has done as an amateur, they won't know who I am or what I have done.

"As good as it was at the time, and I'll never forget it, nobody else will probably remember it."

And that putt to lead at The Open? He said: "Things like that I will remember forever.

"I told my caddie 'if I hole this I'm at the top' and he said 'well, make sure you hole it then!'

"I did hit it a little bit hard and it went about 5ft past. It was a strange thing seeing the names up there and knowing I could be going with them.

"Then again, Jordan Speith was at the top of the leaderboard at the time and I'm quite a few years older than him.

"I get nervous on the first tee whatever I'm playing in, I don't know why it happens but it does.

"But I was pretty relaxed in that Open for some reason. The first tee was nowhere near as bad as it was at Hoylake last year.

"For some reason, I got nervous on the first hole in the third round, I don't know whether that was just because I'd never played the third round of a Major before.

"It was only for one hole and I was fine after that. And that day I'd warmed up really badly on the range – I was sending it all over the place – so that may have had something to do with it.

"If you'd said to me at the start of the week I was going to finish 12th – with or without the Silver Medal – I'd have taken it.

"If you'd had told me I was going to finish 12th I'd have thought I was definitely going to win the Silver Medal.

"Whatever happens now I've still had one amazing week at The Open and I'll never forget that, even if other people do."

That incredible weekend in Scotland gave Chesters a taste of the limelight that he one day hopes to hog.

And he admits dealing with the media side of things is something he has had to adjust to.

He said: "I used to hate all the media and all that stuff but I quite like it now because it's just people showing an interest and it usually means you're doing well.

"You can't really complain when people want to speak to you, it's when they don't want to speak to you that you might be having problems.

"I have a management deal now. They first approached me at The Open last year and I went and met with them at the end of last year.

"When I won the European Amateur and qualified for The Open it all went a bit quiet, because I said I was staying an amateur there's not really a lot they can do.

"They came back this year and could offer what I wanted. They've got a lot of big names in America but I think they're trying to break into the European side a bit more.

"They have Jason Day on their books and I guess they could arrange for me to meet or practice with him, though I don't know what I'd say to him if I spoke to him anyway!"

Chesters' path to the professional ranks has been on hold because of his success on the amateur circuit.

His back-to-back European successes earned him a place at The Open on the condition that he stayed out of the paid ranks.

In doing so, it gave him the chance to play a part in Great Britain & Ireland's victory over America earlier this month in the Walker Cup – the amateur version of the Ryder Cup.

Chesters said: "It was like playing The Open because the crowds were so good and gave us a lot of support.

"They were all allowed down the fairways and were a lot closer so that helped with a bit of noise and making it exciting.

"I didn't turn pro because I qualified for The Open again and I was waiting eight months for that.

"It made sense to wait another month-and-a-half and play the Walker Cup and try to finish my amateur career off properly.

"I did pretty well with three-and-half points so that was a nice way to finish off."

Chesters' progression over the last few years is a source of pride to his family as well as all Hawkstone Park members.

Father Nigel was a joint winner of the English Mid-Amateur Championships in 2005 and the captain to end a 41-year wait for Midlands League glory for the two counties in 2008.

Having made countless appearances for Shropshire & Herefordshire, it's no surprise that Ashley would end up forging a career for himself on the fairways and greens.

He said: "My dad's played at Hawkstone all his life and I used to come up in the evenings with him while he was playing.

"When he got to the green I would chuck a few balls around the green and mess around a bit.

"I think it's a good sport to get your children into because it's not as rough as other sports and has decent people playing it, you don't get led down the wrong path.

"I've still been working for my parents. I started when I was 18 doing about 35 hours a week but it's gradually got less and less as the more I've been away the less hours I've done at work.

"England Golf were good to me, because I was in the England squad for the last three or four years and they give you a bit of funding if you are doing quite well.

"It's based on how well you play in certain events and I did quite well in the big events so I got quite a lot of funding out of England."

Chesters' determination and dedication have been key factors behind his success so far.

And while he knows hours of practice will be needed if he is to progress further, Chesters has taken on advice that sometimes less is more.

He revealed: "I'm usually practising four or five hours a day but I think I've gone a bit too far with it – I never have a day off!

"After listening to what people said I did have a day off, which was the first in goodness knows how long, although I still did some running and gym work.

"I think I do need to have a few more breaks, maybe having four days doing longer days and then having three days off if I've got a week off playing a tournament."

Success on the golf course has meant sports-mad Chesters has struggled to make it to Old Trafford as often as he would like.

But he attends the ATP tennis world tour finals in London and is going to Anthony Joshua's next fight at the O2 in December.

He added: "The only sport I can't get into is rugby. The World Cup's on but I can't get into that at all."

Just as well then that he has other things to focus on right now.