Tennis legend Andy Murray has set his sights on qualifying for the 2026 Golf Open Championship after developing passion for the sport.
Murray retired from Tennis in 2024, after winning 46 ATP Tour singles titles.
However, In the last few months, Murray has worked tirelessly to lower his handicap from seven to two, edging closer to his goal of becoming a scratch golfer.
He is also set to compete in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship next month.
Murray said he is looking forward to participating in the Open while using the prize money £12.5 million as an extra motivation.
He said: “I’ve been playing a lot, practicing a lot, but I want to start entering more competitions and submitting more scorecards.
“I’ve played a lot of social golf recently, and while it’s fun, I don’t think it’s the best way to improve. I love the competitive side of the sport, and that’s why I want to focus on that more. Yeah, I’d love to. A couple of my friends have done it—they’re really into golf.
“I find it fascinating when athletes cross into another sport, but I’m also fully aware, having been an athlete myself, that compared to a professional golfer, I’m still a terrible player.
“You know, lots of amateur sports fans often feel like, ‘Oh, well, you know, if you played more golf, or if I played more golf, I could be a professional golfer’ or whatever. And I just feel like I understand that a scratch golfer is a good golfer, but the difference between a scratch golfer and a professional is huge.
“You know, it’s huge. And I don’t think loads of amateurs necessarily understand that, but I’m not expecting that I would qualify for the open, but I think going through that process and trying to do it would be fun.”
Qualifying for The Open, which will be held at Royal Birkdale on Merseyside next year, takes place at 15 locations across the UK and Ireland.
Murray won 46 ATP Tour singles titles, including three majors at the 2012 US Open, 2013 Wimbledon Championships, and 2016 Wimbledon Championships.
He also won two gold medals at the Summer Olympics, the 2016 ATP World Tour Finals, 14 Masters events, and contested a total of eleven major finals.
Since his retirement, Murray has taken up golf and participated in the BTJA Mike Dickson Golf Day in October 2024, where he picked up his first golf trophy.
