Former HK Golf Club pro Iain Roberts finally gets the chance to revel in The Open in Britain
He has become one of only 38 PGA Master Professionals in the world.
When the end came for Iain Roberts it was really just the beginning. One stroke had separated Roberts from qualifying for The Open at Royal Birkdale in 1983 and if he had made the field he is certain, on reflection today, he would have continued to ply his trade as a young pro, even though deep down Roberts knew the gap to the game's elite would always be insurmountable.
But he gave himself no time to linger on what might have been. Instead, he simply changed the course of his golfing career, seizing the opportunity to become the club pro at Muswell Hill Golf Club in London and setting himself off on a journey that would take him halfway around the world and to Hong Kong.
On July 15 at St Andrews - and at 56 years of age - Roberts will finally get his chance to be part of proceedings at The Open when he will be officially named a PGA Master Professional at the home of the game he loves so dearly.
It will be reward quite simply for his dedication and his drive and the influence Roberts has had as club pro, coach and administrator across his 30-year career.
I haven't got it because I'm a rock'n'roll star, I've got it because I have just kept working. I've kept grafting. It hasn't really sunk in yet, just what it all means. But it will when I get to St Andrews
Golf only has 38 Master Professionals - out of an estimated 7,000 PGA members worldwide - and the accolade places Roberts alongside the likes of coaching greats David Leadbetter, Peter Cowan and Bob Torrance.