
This golfer has spent decades trying to qualify for the Open. Now, he's playing the biggest one yet
CNN
If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then try 23 more times.
The Claret Jug won't be lifted in St Andrews, Scotland, till Sunday, but English golfer Matt Ford has already secured the victory of a lifetime: qualifying for the Open Championship.
The 44-year-old has struck tens of thousands of shots in over 280 tournaments, but when he drives from the opening tee of the Old Course Thursday, it will mark his first swing at a major, in a professional career spanning almost two decades.

The White House is making clear it views President Donald Trump’s Friday Oval Office showdown with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as an overwhelming win underscoring Trump’s “America First” leadership, dispatching top officials and allies on the airwaves to amplify Trump’s handling of the situation even as European leaders are putting on a key show of force of unity for Ukraine and its leader.