PGA Professional Denis McDade has made the trip from Yarra Bend Golf in Melbourne to Royal Birkdale as three of his star pupils chase their first Major victory at The 146^th Open Championship.

McDade is coach to Victorians Marc Leishman, Ashley Hall and Matthew Griffin who is making his Major debut this week.

Given he’s got three horses in this race, the coach will be on site as his charges tackle the links layout.

“It’s great to have players contesting a Major; they’ve all dreamed of winning this one, so getting a start is the first step towards making the dream a reality,” McDade said.

Being onsite gives the coach a unique chance to personally manage each of his players tournament preparations before one of the biggest events on the golfing calendar, he says managing them emotionally in the lead up to round one is just as important as keeping them physically prepared.

“My job this week is to assist with tournament preparation; this involves anything from fine tuning aspects of their games, to individualising course strategy and managing practice days to ensure that their preparation is efficient.

“This last point is important, it’s a long week and it’s easy to overdo the preparation and be worn out physically and emotionally by Thursday!”

McDade’s job doesn’t stop once the range closes, he’ll make a point this week of spending one-on-one time with Leishman, Hall and Griffin ahead of their tee times.

“I usually have dinner with each of my players early in the week to make sure that they are handling the week off the course too,” McDade added.

“Often they have a large, excited contingent of family and friends who travel to The Open and they can be unintentionally demanding of their time away from the course. It’s important to make sure that they’re getting some down time and sleep away from the pressures and expectations of the week.”

The group of Aussies arrived at Royal Birkdale on Sunday giving them the best possible chance to fit in a full preparation.

Leishman, Hall and Griffin all took part in a practice round together on Monday giving McDade the chance to assess the game of each player and strategise a plan of attack for The Open to include everything from equipment to different weather scenarios on the links course.

“A lot of the focus of the practice rounds is figuring out a strategy and making sure they have the right equipment in the bag for the week.

“From an equipment point of view they’ll often want to carry an extra long iron, which means that something else has to be dropped. There aren’t too many Opens where you’re trying to throw it up in the air!

“From a strategy standpoint, we look at expected weather conditions, course condition and historical flag positions to formulate a plan,” McDade said.

“It’s amazing how often the wind direction on Thursday is the opposite of the practice days for example. We have to try and project ahead and figure out how to play each hole. Which club to hit off the tee, what angle we want into a green or flag position, what hazards we’re trying to avoid. We’re often not aiming at practice day flags.”

Of his three entered in The Open this week, Leishman and Hall have both previously played the Royal Birkdale course.

“Ash and Marc have both played a British Amateur here, so they’re looking forward to reacquainting themselves with the course.

“Marc’s game has been in great shape, but he’s been busy changing nappies for his newborn daughter Eva the last week or so, so he’ll be looking forward to catching up on some sleep as well as preparing!”

Griffin however makes his Open and Major debut, McDade said he’ll be doing his best to keep the debutant relaxed ahead of one of the biggest tournaments of his career.

“Matt wanted to play in Japan to get an extra competitive event in before The Open. Both he and Ash arrived last week to play links golf, which is so different to what we have in Australia.

“It’s a Major so there are plenty of pressures and it’s hard to get away from.  The whole place goes golf mad! Making sure that Matty gets some down time to relax and unwind away from the course will be a focus.”

The hard work is now complete for McDade who takes a back seat when play gets underway this Thursday and while the Claret Jug remains the ultimate goal he’ll be happy if all three reach their benchmark at Royal Birkdale.

“A successful week would be for each player to exceed their expectations and goals. If they’re all in contention Sunday afternoon it be an awesome week!”