SWINDON golfer Jake Bolton is set to make just his third-ever DP World Tour start this week after turning down the chance to qualify for the 2023 Open Championship.

The Ogbourne Downs Golf Club member generally operates on the Clutch Pro Tour – the fourth tier of professional men’s golf – but has been presented with the opportunity to feature on the top European stage this week at the Made in HimmerLand event in Denmark.

In doing so, he will add to DP World Tour appearances at the Hero Open in 2021 and the Joburg Open in 2022 while also turning down the chance to compete at Royal Liverpool in the oldest major championship later this month.

Revealing he had planned to take three weeks off aside from competing for and potentially at the Open, Bolton explained why he made the decision to play a regular DP World Tour event.

He said: “I was actually due to play final Open qualifying [on Tuesday]. I was third or fourth reserve, so I was planning to travel down there, sit around, and hope I got the chance.

“But then this comes along, and I have to take this opportunity. Looking at it from a long-term perspective, we have to take these opportunities.

“Even though it comes at the cost of trying to qualify for The Open, which would be unbelievable, there are concrete spots available in this [DP World Tour] event.

“It’s a chance for me to get my full card if I win, there is a lot of prize money up for grabs, and there are loads of potential benefits off the back of it. You can get loads more invites too.”

Due to the late notice of the invite, Bolton only flew out to Denmark on Tuesday afternoon and will enjoy just one day of practice before being a member of the first group to tee off for real on Thursday morning.

As a result, expectations are low for the Swindon man. But Bolton said that is not always the worst outlook.

He said: “Expectation wise, my preparation isn’t going to be as good as the rest of the field, but no expectations can be a good thing sometimes.

“My game is trending in the right direction, and this week is a chance to set myself up for the rest of the year. I’d like to thank everyone who has supported me so far, especially Webbs Builders Merchants.”