ALMOST three decades on from becoming British Amateur champion, Broadstone golfer Lee James is hoping to mix it with some golfing royalty once again.

After that big tournament win in Scotland in 1994, James went on to compete in two of golfs flagship events in the next year, The Open at Turnberry before the iconic Augusta National for the 1995 Masters.

That event, won by American Ben Crenshaw, will forever be noted as the first major in which Tiger Woods competed, as he, like James, qualified as an amateur.

As a result of that amateur triumph in Nairn back in 1994, James has received an invite to compete at this year’s US Senior Open event.

James was paired alongside two star names in Jack Nicklaus and Vijay Singh for his two rounds at Augusta.

This year in Wisconsin, he will be looking to rub shoulders with the likes of Padraig Harrington, Steve Stricker and Bernhard Langer as part of the PGA Tour Champions, events for golfers aged 50 or over.

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Looking ahead to the event, James, who turned 50 earlier this year, told the Daily Echo: “I get a one-time exemption (from qualifying) when I turn 50, so it’s just for this year only.

“An ex-friend, who won the British Amateur a few years after me, played in it I think in 2016 or 2017.

“So I knew roughly the rule, which was in play back then. So I checked it out in January, managed to track this guy down and he said ‘yes, you should go for it, it’s a one-time experience’.

“So it’s now just trying to go to it.”

James, who works in operations at Marks & Spencer in Broadstone, is looking to raise funds to ensure he can make the trip later this year.

“They’ve changed the rules now for amateur golf, you can be sponsored now,” he explained.

“So I’m trying to raise money for it.”

Reflecting back on his time in golf since competing in the Masters, Corfe Mullen-based James, who plays at Broadstone Golf Club, said: “That does feel like a while ago! I was an amateur then.

“I played in the Masters in 1995, so that was 28 years ago now.

“I got my amateur status back in 2017. It took me two years.

“Over the last couple of years, what I do now is basically play for the club and literally the odd county event. But it’s mainly play club competitions, play in the club matches.

“Last year I did go off and play in the West of England, which is a national amateur event.

“I was trying to raise some money to see about going for the European Seniors Tour, but that didn’t happen.

“Whether I do that in the future, I don’t know. But the main thing is to have a crack at this US Open.”

He added: “I’ll know some of the guys from the European side of it. People like Padraig and I’m sure there will be others there who I’ll know.

“It will be good to see them and catch up with them really. The last time I saw those kind of guys would be when I was on the European Tour back in 2008.”

Going from club events to coming up against former major winners is somewhat of a different prospect for James.

But he is already putting the hard yards in to get himself in the best shape possible.

He said: “I’ve already gone from practicing or hitting balls literally once every two weeks to practicing four or five times a week now.

“So I’m starting to already put the work in on the range, obviously around work when I can.

“But, providing I can raise the money, I’ve got four months to get up into what I would call good shape.

“I’m putting all the effort into the game now, with the hope of raising the money.”

The US Senior Open, set to take place in early July, last year saw a purse of $4million, with $720,000 going to the winner, Harrington.

Any individuals or companies interested in helping Lee raise funds ahead of the event should contact him via email at leejam753@aol.com