JOHN Cockroft will have one last go at qualifying for the Open as an amateur on Monday but said: "There's no pressure."

The 21-year-old Nelson player is planning to turn professional at the end of the year -- and he reckons that will make events like Open qualifying even harder to compete in.

"There is no pressure on guys like me -- amateurs. It's fun, and if I do well it's a bonus," he said. "There is more pressure on the professionals who are there to earn some money."

Cockroft, who works in the professional's shop at Mytton Fold, went to regional qualifying last year but missed out on final qualifying by three strokes at Ormskirk.

He is competing in regional qualifying this year at Wilmslow on Monday.

"I feel pretty good," he said. "It was a good experience last year. I feel like I know what it's all about now.

"I used to go and watch the Open qualifiers when they were at Wilmslow about 10 years ago.

"It is good to actually be going there trying to qualify myself. I might be a bit nervous if I got to final qualifying but I won't be on Monday.

"It would be nice to do it, just get stuck in there and see how what happens."

Cockroft has been playing on the Mitsushiba Northern Order of Merit this year, finishing fifth in Manchester and fourth at Nelson.

And he made the quarter final of the ELGA championships, the Harold Ryden Trophy. "I wasn't playing very well so really I was just happy to qualify for the last eight," he said. "I was playing against players who were in better form than I was. "I am playing much better now, I am starting to come into a bit of form. You just wake up one morning and hit a couple of good shots when you start and it starts to feel good again."

Cockroft spent the winter in Portugal, at the Leadbetter Academy, before returning to Britain.

"At the Leadbetter, I was watching the coaches there and learning a bit about coaching.

"I was there for about three months and of course it is a lot warmer out there than here.

"It beats playing in the snow and swirling winds anyway!

"The courses in winter here are either waterlogged or its blowing a 60 mph gale."