2021 Open Heroes: Alison Perkins

Transgender pro Alison Perkins could have been playing in the Open after entering Regional Qualifying at Hollinwell. That didn’t work out so she was part of the team giving lessons in the Swing Zone, where she was part of a team giving out free 15-minute lessons, which she did for four days. And then came a few unwelcome comments and Perkins decided to cut her week short.

"Yes, it has hurt and caused much distress," she told Bunker. "It only takes a few in thousands to do harm and it can take me a while to recover from this sort of thing. However, I like to draw on the good and not the bad. I will fight and be back at some point. What goes around comes around. I have many battles in life. Some I choose to fight, others are not worth it. The end goal is more important to me.

"It was a hard week with all the COVID precautions but I did four days on the zone, watched lots of golf fans and learnt so much too. I do hope to be back trying to qualify again next year, if not coaching again if I apply and get selected."

A spokesman for The R&A said: “Alison is a valued member of the PGA’s Swing Zone team and we are deeply disturbed to have learned of the incident earlier this week. We will be reaching out to Alison to offer our support and make it clear she is most welcome at the Open in future. We strongly believe that golf should be open to all and deplore any kind of discriminatory behaviour.”

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